From the Ashes
by zaxie-crazy
Summary: GH one year after the PC Hotel Fire. One person that was supposedly dead in the fire turns up and complicates things. Zaxie with Lusky, GQ and CarlyJasCortJax (Chapter 7 is up)
1. Author's Note & Prolouge

From the Ashes  
  
Authors Note: This fic includes Character Death. I just thought I'd give everyone a heads up. Also, if you aren't a fan of the main pairing in this fic, please don't leave bad feedback just because you don't like the pairing. This fic takes place about a year after the GH fire. **Also, it contains some spoilers about the fire**, do if you don't want to be spoiled you can read it after the fire airs on GH (  
  
The main couple/pairing is...Zander and Maxie  
  
Some of the other couple/triangles besides the main couple are this fic. These include: Jason/Courtney/Jax (possibly Carly), Nikolas/Emily, Georgie/Dillon, Luke/Skye. These couples may change through out the fic and I may put these characters with different people if I want to go that route in the future.  
  
Also the minor characters in this may only appear once or twice, or they will only be mentioned. And some minor characters may become main characters through out the story.  
  
Some of the flashbacks in this chapter are actual scenes from GH. And I also have to warn you, that none of my italics, bold wirting or anything fancy showed up when I put it here on fanfiction.net. So this is as good as its going to get :D  
  
And finally...don't forget to review! I love reading reviews and it encourages me to write more and more often than if I didn't get any lol  
  
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Prologue: The wind blew against Maxie Jones's cold reddened face as she made her way through the Port Charles Park. She walked along the new fresh snow covering the main path towards her house after her shift at Kelly's that she had started after her classes for the day. She put one foot in front of the other as she walked towards her house homebound. 


	2. Chapter 1

From the Ashes  
  
Authors Note: This fic includes Character Death. I just thought I'd give everyone a heads up. Also, if you aren't a fan of the main pairing in this fic, please don't leave bad feedback just because you don't like the pairing. This fic takes place about a year after the GH fire. **Also, it contains some spoilers about the fire**, do if you don't want to be spoiled you can read it after the fire airs on GH (  
  
The main couple/pairing is...Zander and Maxie  
  
Some of the other couple/triangles besides the main couple are this fic. These include: Jason/Courtney/Jax (possibly Carly), Nikolas/Emily, Georgie/Dillon, Luke/Skye. These couples may change through out the fic and I may put these characters with different people if I want to go that route in the future.  
  
Also the minor characters in this may only appear once or twice, or they will only be mentioned. And some minor characters may become main characters through out the story.  
  
Some of the flashbacks in this chapter are actual scenes from GH. And I also have to warn you, that none of my italics, bold writing or anything fancy showed up when I put it here on fanfiction.net. So this is as good as its going to get :D  
  
And finally...don't forget to review! I love reading reviews and it encourages me to write more and more often than if I didn't get any lol  
  
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Prologue: The wind blew against Maxie Jones's cold reddened face as she made her way through the Port Charles Park. She walked along the new fresh snow covering the main path towards her house after her shift at Kelly's that she had started after her classes for the day. She put one foot in front of the other as she walked towards her house homebound. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Maxie Jones opened her bedroom door and closed it behind her once she was inside. She had another dull day....same as the rest of her days lately. She was now a college student at the Port Charles Community College and living at home. Ever since Mac got hurt in the fire at the Port Charles Hotel, their family had been tight on money. Maxie's mother Felicia came home for about 4 months after Mac got hurt to help nurse him back to health. Maxie didn't give her mother a warm hearted welcome like she knew her mother expected. Felicia had been gone for so long, that Maxie wasn't as thrilled to have her home for the little time that she was home as her younger sister Georgie was.  
  
Speaking of Georgie, she was happier than she had been in months. Georgie and Dillon Quartermaine had recently reunited and were very much in love. As for their obstacles Sage Alcazar and "Tom" aka Travis....they were no longer obstacles. Sage had left town supposedly heartbroken after Dillon and Georgie got back together once she finally told him about "Tom". As for Mr. "Tom"...well Travis was happy to be called by his real name and continued through high school with the best grades of his life thanks to Georgie. The last time Maxie heard about Travis, he was going to Ohio State to play Basketball for their team. As for Georgie and Dillon, they were in their senior year in high school.  
  
Maxie was currently in her 1st year in college. Since Mac got hurt, she worked at Kelly's to help pay for her college tuition and books. She still volunteered at the hospital with what other free time she got. Volunteering at General Hospital let her get the opportunity to get to know a lost soul...Zander Smith....which was a time she would never forget.  
  
Maxie flopped down onto her bed and stretched out and then closed her eyes. Her mind drifting to the very little memories that she had of him....she still remembered his face, his voice... everything about him that he had told her. From the young romantic that tried to take Emily Quartermaine to the prom to the heartbroken man who got mixed up in the mob after loosing Emily to someone else. Zander had trusted her with his life, and she desperately wished that things had turned out differently for him. Once the fire was put out, the firefighters found no sign of Zander where had been hiding out. According to Nikolas Cassadine, Zander and Nikolas were fighting and Nikolas locked him in there not knowing that their fight had started the blaze. It didn't take long to put it together that Zander couldn't have possibly made it out alive. Maxie could still remember when she returned to the Port Charles Hotel and learned about the fire and about Zander's doomed fate.....  
  
**Flashback**  
  
Maxie Jones walked back into the Port Charles Hotel to see a bunch of fireman and paramedics there and saw the smoke in the air. She noticed someone on a stretched being led out of the hotel and realized that it was Mac.  
  
"Oh, my god! Oh, my god, that's my dad! That's my dad! Maxie exclaimed fear running through her entire body  
  
Paramedic: "Hold on, hold on -- i'm sorry, I'm sorry."  
  
"What happened? " she asked  
  
Paramedic: "The fire started in the basement. He went down there and got caught in the back draft."  
  
"The basement? There's somebody else in the basement! She exclaimed realizing that Zander was still down there.  
  
Paramedic: "I'm sorry, ma'am, we have got to get him to the hospital right away!"  
  
"If he wakes up, ok, tell him that I'm fine! My name is Maxie, ok?" she said as Mac got led out of the hotel. She went up to a fireman. "Excuse me! I need your help! I need your help! There's somebody in the basement right now."  
  
Fireman: You sure?  
  
"I'm positive! Can you please get him out?  
  
Fireman: "Well, we'll do the best we can, but that room was reported to have been fully engulfed. No one in there could've possibly survived."  
  
**End of Flashback**  
  
Zander wasn't the only one lost that day.... Brian Beck died after being shot in the burning PC hotel and Zander's father, Cameron Lewis, was lost in the blaze....but Zander's death impacted her the most. She didn't handle the service very well at all and Maxie remembered crying herself to sleep the night after Zander's memorial service that Alexis held for him along with Cameron. She knew nobody else understood why she was so upset over a man that she hardly knew at all....  
  
**Flashback**  
  
"Oh god...Zander. I'm so sorry that you are gone. I should have gotten back to the hotel sooner...I may have been able to stop everything and you would be alive." Maxie whispered to herself dug her face into her pillow and tried to sob silently.  
  
The sound of her bedroom door opening, made Maxie go completely silent. She knew it had to be Georgie. She held her breath hoping her sister would go back to her room and leave her alone. After a minute, she heard her room door close again and listened as Georgie's footsteps grew faint and then she was left in silence again.  
  
**End of Flashback**  
  
Maxie rolled over and glanced at her clock. It was 7:30 and Maxie was already exhausted. She decided to get ready for bed and watch some TV in her bed until she fell asleep. It was a Friday Night and Mac was still at work and Georgie was on a date with Dillon so she had the house to herself for a while. She got off of her bed and went into the bathroom to change. She threw on her blue fuzzy pajamas and fuzzy slippers and walked over to her closet to lie out her uniform for her shift at General Hospital the following morning. She quickly found her uniform but noticed that dress hanging in the back of her closet...it was the dress that she had purchased a year ago for the winter informal that year. She never ended up going to the dance; instead she was busy hiding Zander Smith in her room. But Maxie was glad that she didn't go to the prom because Zander tried to give her her own special dance. It was so much better than going to school dance. She caressed the dress with her fingers feeling the fabric between her fingers. She still had memories of that night......  
  
**Flashback**  
  
Maxie walked into her room wearing her winter formal dress per Zander's request. The first thing she noticed as the room was dark and lit with candles and the music was playing.  
  
"Welcome to the winter informal." Zander said lighting the last of the candles and then looked over at her.  
  
"You really did not need to do this." Maxie said in awe  
  
"Do what? Zander asked still looking at her  
  
"Try to make me not feel like a pathetic loser." Maxie replied somewhat softly.  
  
"Actually, I'm trying to make myself not feel like a pathetic loser. You know, I never thought my life would turn out this way. As a matter of fact, there was a time when I thought it'd be quite different. You know, I took a girl to the prom once." Zander says as his mind drifts to Emily.  
  
"Emily? she guessed figuring that had to be who it was.  
  
"It was a disaster. I didn't fit in, I couldn't do the talk about, you know, who was dating who and where biff was going to college. You know, I couldn't even pretend to. It was just –" he paused.  
  
"Was she angry? Maxie asked him.  
  
"She was -- she tried not to be disappointed, but she was. I felt like a jerk. And then on the way home, I stopped the car and I took her hand and we danced underneath the streetlight." he said.  
  
"Sounds romantic." she said softly.  
  
"It was more than that. It was real. So, it would be my honor if you would dance with me now. It would help me to remember that guy and that girl. Maxie, I''m not trying to hit on you here." he says  
  
"I know. But that guy? He was probably wearing a boutonniere. Here you go." she said with a giggle going and getting a flower and putting it on him.  
  
The music began playing and the two started to dance.  
  
**End of Flashback**  
  
Snapping out of her thoughts and memories, Maxie flipped on the TV and started to surf the channels. She settled on some movie with Tom Hanks in it and closed her eyes. Before she realized it, she was fast asleep.  
  
Maxie didn't know how long she was asleep for but she was woken up by footsteps ascending up the stairs and heading towards her room. *Its got to be Georgie* she thought to herself as she sighed out loud. Sure enough, her door soon swung open and Georgie peered inside most likely to see if her sister was awake or not.  
  
"Maxie? Are you awake?" Georgie asked slightly above a whisper.  
  
"Does this answer your question Georgie."? Maxie asked not waiting for a response before switching on her lamp on her nightstand,  
  
Gerogie smiled slightly. "Well I just wanted to let you know that I am home from my date with Dillon." She said beaming.  
  
Maxie could already tell by the twinkle of her sister's eyes and the tone of her voice, that she had a good time. "Okay, spill Georgie...I can tell you want to share your evening with someone and I'm awake now, so you might as well tell me." She said with a slight smile as she sat up in the sitting position in her bed.  
  
Georgie flopped down on the foot of the bed and began to fill her sister in on her latest date with Dillon...every single little detail. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Nikolas Cassadine walked into the Windermere study to see his wife, Emily Quartermaine-Cassadine, seated on the sofa studying for a medical test. Nikolas and Emily had married about 4 months ago and Nikolas loved every moment being married to the strong willed Emily Quartermaine. The two wed in a lavish wedding ceremony at the Port Charles Church with the money that they got from the treasure. Nikolas and Emily recaptured the treasure and did exactly what they planned with it....they divided it between their two families. The Quartermaines weren't exactly thrilled with it, but they settled for whatever they got. As for Nikolas's family, which consisted of Alexis, Lucky and Lulu and even Luke some days... they didn't mind as much, they were glad for some extra income.  
  
"Hey, how is the studying going?" Nikolas asked with a warm smile as he took a seat next to Emily. He had made a cup of coffee for her since he figured she would be staying up for a while and then put his arm around her. He decided to stay out of Emily's hair for the day since he knew she had a paper and a test coming up in the next few days.  
  
Emily looked up from her books and yawned. "Its coming along." She replied with a soft smile as she took the coffee cup from him. She was grateful for the energy booster. Anything to keep herself awake for a little bit longer. "I thought of a personal experience to put in my essay....I'm going to write about my injury during the Port Charles Fire when the chandelier fell on me. I got to see doctors work for weeks on my injuries....they helped me so much with their medicine and...." She paused and then took a sip of her coffee.  
  
Nikolas smiled slightly and looked into her eyes. "I thank God that you recovered everyday since then. I still feel it was my fault that you got hurt...I shouldn't have gone into that basement...then I wouldn't have run into Zander...and then the fire wouldn't have started." Nikolas said with a sigh.  
  
Emily set her books down and looked into his eyes. "Don't blame yourself Nikolas...it wasn't your fault. The electrical systems were the cause of that fire. And about Zander, I know you didn't lock him in there knowing that he was going to die in there." She said her voice trailing off as thoughts of Zander Smith came into her mind. *I wish you would have gotten to Canada Zander...I wish you wouldn't have died* she thought to herself. Even though it had been almost a year to the date since that fire, the memories and events of it didn't fade away like some people in Port Charles thought they would.  
  
Nikolas nodded. "I know...but I can't help it. That fire has been on my mind lately...especially since the one year anniversary is tomorrow." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened his mouth to say something else, but then decided not to say anything else.  
  
Emily decided to change the subject. "Lets not talk about that fire anymore tonight?" she suggests. "I shouldn't have brought it up. I'll write my essay tomorrow." Emily said setting the coffee cup down and rising to her feet. She watched Nikolas rise as well. Emily took a hold of his hand and glanced at the clock. It was just 11:30 exactly. "Come on, lets get to bed." She said softly looking into his eyes and then led him out of the study and towards their bedroom. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
:Morning:  
  
Courtney Matthews sat down at her desk in her apartment. Now that the dust settled from the fire and from Sonny and Carly's custody battle, Courtney was starting to have a normal life. She divorced Jason and vowed to stay out of the mob...even though her love for Jason never died. She had to get out before she lost all of her innocence....but she wasn't the same person that she was before. Shooting Brian was a real wake up call for her and because of her chickening out in confessing to the shooting caused Zander Smith his life in the end. She remembered signing the divorce papers and finally being free of the mob...  
  
**Flashback**  
  
Courtney Morgan looked at the divorce papers and picked up a nearby pen. The tears kept flowing down her cheeks, as her shaky hands scribbled her signature on the papers. She turned around and looked at Jason who was behind her and handed him the pen so he could sign next. "This is it Jason....the last time I will be Courtney Morgan. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry that I wasn't cut out to be your wife because I will always love you. I'm no Carly...I probably will never be able to be as strong as she was being in Sonny's life while they were together."  
  
Jason put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Courtney, I never expected you to be like Carly. I wish things could have worked out for us, but I don't regret falling in love with you and I never will." He watched as she stepped away so he could sign the papers. Jason took a deep breath and signed his name on the papers, setting the pen down once he did. "I'll give these to Justus as soon as I can get over and see him." He said softly going to the door of Courtney's brand new apartment.  
  
He opened the door and went to exit but stopped. He turned around and locked eyes with Courtney. "Courtney, I just want you to know my love for you isn't going to go away even though our marriage didn't work. I want you to be happy and find someone with a lifestyle that you can live happily in." he then turned back around and left her apartment shutting the door behind him.  
  
Courtney broke down crying once the door had clicked shut.  
  
**End of Flashback**  
  
Courtney closed her eyes letting the tears that had formed in her eyes fall down her cheeks. Courtney's thoughts were interrupted when she heard a knock at the door. Courtney slowly got up from her chair and opened the door to see Carly Roberts formally known as Carly Corinthos.  
  
"Hey Carly." Courtney said with a sad smile.  
  
Carly noticed the pain in her friend's eyes and voice and stepped inside. "You are thinking about the Port Charles Fire aren't you? It's going to be the one-year anniversary tomorrow and I can't blame you...a lot of people died. Some innocent civilians and some people that we knew." She said  
  
Courtney closed the door behind her. "Yes, I'm thinking about it Carly...who isn't in this town? My actions of shooting Brian helped seal the fate of Zander."  
  
Carly shook her head. "Come on Courtney, you aren't responsible for anything that happened. You were protecting your husband at the time, you aren't some cold-blooded monster...as for Zander, he was self-destructing. He would have gotten in trouble some other way."  
  
Courtney sighed. "Carly...I wish I could believe you....but I can't. Zander was innocent and I didn't do a damn thing to stop that manhunt that the cops had on him! Its going to be the one year anniversary of the event tomorrow...one year and counting, my actions have cost him."  
  
Carly spun around and looked at Courtney. She fell silent. Carly didn't know what to say to make things better, she knew that as the years passed things would try and go back to normal...but the next 24 hours were going to be tough for everyone...especially Courtney since the pain, the hurt, and the memories were still fresh after all this time. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Luke Spencer tapped his foot against the ground while glancing at his watch. He was waiting on Skye and hoped the redhead would show up soon. He looked off into the distance and noticed her figure approaching him. "Hey Red!" he called out and went over to her.  
  
Skye looked tired and Luke figured she had just gotten up recently. "Okay Luke...why did you wake me up to meet you at-...-" she paused and glanced at her watch. "At 7:30 AM?" she asked finishing her question.  
  
Luke flashed her one of his smiles. "I thought we would do something..." he paused trying to choose the right word. "fun today." He said.  
  
Skye cut him off right there. "We do something 'fun' almost everyday Luke." Skye pointed out and tried not to let the excitement show in her voice. She wondered what Luke was up to this time. Ever since she had gotten involved with the man, her life had never been the same and she wasn't complaining.  
  
Luke held up his hand. "Yeah, I know that...but today we are going to go... ice skating." He simply said.  
  
Skye's eyes got wide. "You mean you woke me up at god knows what hour to tell me that we are going ice skating?!" she exclaimed.  
  
Luke nodded. "Yep, but the rest of the gang is going to be there too. Lulu has been begging me to take her ice-skating for a while now so I finally caved in. And I need your help in planning the day today. I really don't want to mess this up....I have took what Dr. Qua...Cameron told me before he died to heart and this is what Lulu wants since I didn't get a chance to take her ice skating last year with everything that went on and I want you to be there too. So...with your beauty and brains behind this, I'm sure we can make a whole day out of everything." He said.  
  
Skye nodded. "Okay, count me in. I'm sure we can think of a whole itinerary for the day...over coffee." She said and paused. "Which you are providing." She added with a smile.  
  
Luke puts his arm around her as they headed towards his house together. "You got yourself a deal Blaze."  
  
Tracy Quartermaine and her new partner Helena Cassadine watched the two from off in the distance. Helena smiled wickedly and turned to her partner. "I have an idea to get some revenge." She said.  
  
Tracy nodded. "Okay, so go on old hag." She said.  
  
Helena raised a brow. "I am going to take something away from dear old Luke." She snickered. "Its time I get my revenge on him."  
  
"And what would that be?" Tracy asked sighing annoyed by Helena's little games.  
  
"I'm going to get rid of little miss Skye." Helena simply said.  
  
Tracy was now very interested. "I like where this is going, anything to get even with little miss heiress. Ever since my brain-less father Edward named her heir to the Quartermaine name, I have wanted revenge. That should be my title...she isn't even an actual Quartermaine!" she hissed through clenched teeth.  
  
"Patience Tracy, we have to plan this right...." Helena said waving her hand to stop further talking from Tracy. "Now this is what we are going to do.....- "~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Maxie woke up to the cool breeze on her skin. It was like someone opened the window. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked towards her window. She saw it was still closed and figured her mind was playing tricks on her or someone turned the heat down in the house. She quickly went into the bathroom and showered and dressed. Once she had done that, Maxie was busy towel-drying her hair when she noticed a note on her table. "I bet my dad or Georgie put this in here when I was in the shower." She said to herself as she opened the note. Her eyes scanned over it and she was instantly confused.  
  
The note read: Maxie,  
  
Look into the past, for someone is not lost in it.  
  
The note wasn't signed or anything, which baffled Maxie. The writing looked somewhat like Mac's so Maxie figured it must have been him playing some sort of game with her. "I'll have to ask him later about this." She said softly and set the note back down and returned into the bathroom to finish getting ready. 


	3. Chapter 2

From the Ashes  
  
Authors Note: Chapter 2 is finally up lol. Thanks so much for the reviews for Chapter 1. I read over all the reviews and took what everyone said and decided that this chapter is not going to have any Nem or any of the Fab 4 in it. So this chapter is GQ, Lusky and Zaxie friendly lol. I'm also writing in more characters like Mac and Dillon.  
  
And finally...don't forget to review! I love reading reviews and it encourages me to write more and more often than if I didn't get any lol  
  
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Maxie emerged from her bathroom dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a light blue fuzzy long sleeved shirt. She had her hair neatly pulled back into a ponytail and she was grateful for the creation of hair dryers otherwise, her hair would be drenched and she wouldn't be cold all day since it was winter after all.  
  
She went over to the staircase and heard familiar voices of her sister Georgie, Dillon and Mac down stairs. Maxie slowly walked down the stairs and into the kitchen to see all three of them seated at the kitchen table having breakfast.  
  
"Hey Maxie, you better dig in before its all gone." Dillon said with a grin before shoving a big bite of a waffle into his mouth.  
  
Maxie smiled slightly and took a seat next to her father. "What time do you have to go to work?" she asked him making small talk. She wanted to think of the right way to ask him about the note that she found.  
  
Mac looked at his watch on his wrist. "I have about an hour or so before I have to leave here." He replied. He glanced at Georgie and Dillon and then at Maxie. "What do the three of you have planned today?" he asked them. This was a usual routine on the weekends, Mac liked to know what his children were doing while he was away at work.  
  
Maxie dished up her food deciding to let Georgie and Dillon answer first. Dillon and Georgie exchanged glances and smiled at each other. "Dillon and I are going to go to pond to go ice skating." Georgie said. "Dillon is going to try and teach me not to fall every two seconds." She says with a slight laugh.  
  
Mac grinned. "That sounds like fun you two." He said and then looked over at Maxie. "What do you have planned today Max?" he asked her. He had a hunch what she was probably going to do...volunteer at the hospital, but he asked anyway.  
  
Maxie pushed her waffles around on her plate not looking up. "I'm going to the hospital to volunteer." She said and then pinned the bit of waffle with her fork and brought it to her mouth. She put the waffle in her mouth and chewed it slowly and then swallowed it.  
  
Mac nodded. "Well that's good Maxie, I'm sure the hospital really appreciates all the time you put in there." He said  
  
Maxie just smiled in response as she noticed Mac, Dillon and Georgie exchanged worried glances. She knew they were concerned about her, heck she was concerned about herself. She hadn't been the same since loosing Zander in the fire....Maxie was well aware of that. She quickly gulped down her food... even beating the chowhound Dillon. She stood up. "I have a few hours until my shift at the hospital stops....do you mind if I go shopping for a little bit? I need some supplies for college." She said. Besides, this would get her out of the house for a while.  
  
"Do you want Dillon and I to come with you Maxie?" Georgie asked as she turned and looked at her sister.  
  
Maxie shook her head. "Nah, it's just going to the store... Nothing exciting there. You two have fun and enjoy yourselves. And Dillon, you better buy my sister a hot chocolate!" she said putting on a smile. Maxie then grabbed her coat and headed out the door. She had forgotten all about asking about the note.  
  
Dillon laughed. "Can do Maxie." He replied watching her leave. He stood up from the table. He turned to Georgie. "I have to stop by the Quartermaine Mansion to go and get my skates....do you want to come along with me or do you want me to meet you over at the pond?"  
  
Georgie pressed her lips together in thought. She wasn't a fan of Dillon's family....especially his mother, but she decided to go along with him anyway. "I'll come with you." She said with a slight smile.  
  
Dillon took her hand in his as they walked to the door together. Dillon helped Georgie put on her winter jacket and then put his own on.  
  
"I'll see you later dad!" Georgie called out to Mac as she grabbed her skates from the floor by the door.  
  
"Bye Mr. Scorpio!" Dillon called out to Mac  
  
"Bye Dillon, Bye Georgie, have fun." Mac called out from the kitchen. He wasn't worried about Georgie. She had Dillon and Mac knew that he made his daughter happy. Who Mac was worried about was Maxie. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Skye finished the last drop of her coffee and set her cup down. The two had planned the whole day out for Lulu and Luke was grateful for Skye's help.  
  
"We do have a problem...." Skye said as she looked down into her empty coffee cup. She kicked herself for not realizing this sooner.  
  
Luke looked at her curiously. "And that would be???....." he asked gulping down the remainder of his hot java.  
  
Skye sighed softly. "I just remembered that I have no idea where my ice skates are." She admitted. "We are going to have to stop someplace so I can buy some because I doubt I'll be able to find mine."  
  
Luke bit his lip as an idea came into his mind. "We won't necessarily have to stop someplace." He replied as he stood up from the table. "Come with me." He said to Skye and didn't even wait for a response as he exited the room.  
  
Skye quickly rose to her feet and followed Luke all the way up to the attic of the Spencer House. She felt like she would follow Luke Spencer anywhere. She made her way up the attic stairs hearing a creeking sound whenever she would step on the next step. Once she was up in the attic, she stopped in her tracks as she noticed Luke heading towards a bunch of boxes.  
  
"Luke, can you please tell me what we are doing up in the attic?" she asked planting her hands on her hips.  
  
Luke, who was busy looking through the boxes for the right one didn't even bother looking up when he replied. "I'm looking for a box."  
  
"Well obviously....but the question is why?" Skye asked as she took a seat on an empty crate. She watched him go from box to box looking for the right one. "Do you need any help looking for whatever you are looking for?"  
  
"Nope, I don't need any help Blaze." He said as he finally found the box that he was looking for and opened it up. "Found it." He announced. He dug through the box carefully and pulled out a pair of women's ice skates. "You are a size 7 ½ right?" he asked Skye.  
  
Skye had no idea that he knew that about her. They did know a lot about each other, but Skye didn't know his shoe size....she didn't expect him to know her's. *I guess he knows more things about me than I thought* she thought. Skye nodded. "Yeah, that's right...but-" she started but then Luke cut her off.  
  
"Laura has...or had the same shoe size as you." Luke said standing up and walking over to her. He looked down at the skates and smiled sadly at them. Thoughts of his Laura flowed through his mind.  
  
Skye knew what he was getting at. "Oh no Luke, I couldn't possibly wear Laura's skates." She started as she stood up. She placed her hands on his, which were on the skates. "These are special because they are hers. I wouldn't feel right wearing them, besides I don't want to ruin them." She said with a warm smile as she looked into his eyes.  
  
Luke looked into her eyes and nodded. He wasn't going to push the issue. "Okay, I guess we are going to the store then." He said as he set the skates down.  
  
"I guess we are..." Skye said softly as she glanced around the attic. Luke had a lot of things up there....a lot of memories of Laura and his children from when they were younger. Skye wished she had wonderful memories to hold onto....items that reminded her of the good times. She still didn't know about her father....she didn't even have a name of the man that helped her come into this world. As for her mother....she died about 6 months ago. Rae had gotten into a horrible car accident that cost her life.  
  
"Get some red skates." Luke said simply and then cracked a smile trying to relieve the tention. He walked towards the attic stairs.  
  
Skye felt the tension lift and smile as well. She pushed all of those thoughts out of her mind. "We'll see what they have...if you can find me a pair of red ice skates, I promise I'll buy them." She replied following him to the attic stairs and out of the attic. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Dillon and Georgie stepped up on the porch of the Quartermaine Mansion. Dillon rang the doorbell and waited patiently for their new butler Philip to answer the door. During the past year or so, they had gone through so many butlers. Since their family had some money again, Edward became pickier...like he used to be. Dillon had to say that his favorite Quartermaine butler had to be Alexis as Dobson. His thoughts were interrupted as the door opened. Philip had indeed answered the beckon.  
  
"Hello sir." Philip said with little or no emotion in his voice. He sounded like a robot.  
  
"Uh...hello to you too Phil." Dillon said as he and Georgie stepped inside.  
  
"Hi Philip." Georgie said politely hoping for a smile from the man. She didn't get what she wanted. As soon as they were physically inside the door, Philip shut the door and was gone.  
  
"That's one cheery man." Georgie said sarcastically. "He is almost like a robot."  
  
Dillon grinned. "He will come around eventually. Living in this mad house...he will have to break sometime." He said. "I'll be right back, my skates are in my closet. You can wait here." He said going over to the staircase and ascended up them.  
  
Georgie watched him disappear up the staircase and glanced around as she waited for him. While she waited, she heard a voice that she despised growing closer...Tracy Quartermaine. Then Georgie saw her, coming from the living room ordering Philip the butler around like a dog. Tracy halted as soon as she laid eyes on Georgie.  
  
"Look what the cat drug in. What are **you** doing here??" Tracy said giving Georgie an icy glare.  
  
"Dillon and I are going ice skating. We will be gone in a few minutes." Georgie said sighing heavily.  
  
Tracy rolled her eyes. "My son will get bored with you eventually." She said. "That Sage Alcazar was far more interesting than you."  
  
Georgie cringed at the name Sage. She hated that name and never wanted to hear it again. It was just like Tracy to throw it in her face like that.....typical Tracy Quartermaine. She didn't say anything in response to what Tracy said. *Come on Dillon, hurry up* she thought to herself.  
  
Tracy knew she hit a nerve. "Maybe I should go and look Sage up....bring her back to Port Charles to rescue my son from you." She said with an evil smirk.  
  
Georgie was about to say something when she saw Dillon coming down the stairs with his skates. Dillon noticed Tracy and groaned.  
  
"Leave Georgie alone mother." He said as he reached the main level of the Mansion.  
  
"I'm not bothering little miss boring Georgie." Tracy lied. She then gave Georgie a look.  
  
"I don't believe you....you aren't capable of not bothering anybody." Dillon said placing his around Georgie. "Lets get out of here." He said.  
  
Georgie nodded. "I agree." She said giving Tracy a look back before the two headed to the door. Dillon opened the door and the two exited the Mansion.  
  
Tracy heard the door click shut. "If I weren't so busy helping Helena get revenge on Luke, I'd be putting a stop to this." she huffed. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Maxie walked slowly through the Port Charles Park with her shopping bag. She really did go and buy some school supplies like she said she was. She glanced at her watch and noticed that she still had time to kill before she was to be at the hospital. Her mind drifted to her sister and Dillon as she wondered if they were at the ice rink yet. Now what those two had was young love. Maxie envied her sister for finding someone like Dillon. Even though he messed up majorly with Sage, Dillon was an overall good guy and had been golden since the Sage mess.  
  
As for her love life...she could honestly say that it sucked. Her crush on Lucky Spencer was a waste because he obviously was not interested in her in the least. Her relationship with Kyle was a mistake from day one. He had stomped on her heart and she would never forget that. She regretted ever giving herself to him, that was one of the things she regretted the most in her life. She was such an idiot back them, young and wild....not thinking about her actions, just doing them. She was out of control and she was glad that she was able to pull herself back together.  
  
Then she remembered the note...she had forgotten to ask Mac about it. She quickly pulled out her cell phone and dialed her home phone number hoping to catch Mac before he left for work. She held her phone to her ear as she waited for someone to pick up. As Maxie was about to hang up, she heard Mac's voice come over the other end of the line.  
  
"Scorpio Residence." He said sounding very professional that Maxie almost laughed out loud.  
  
"Hey dad, its Maxie." Maxie said smiling to herself still getting over how funny he sounded.  
  
"Hey Maxie, is everything alright?" Mac's voice asked.  
  
"Yeah, everything is fine. I got what I needed and I'm going to head home very soon. I just had to ask you something before you headed out the door." Maxie said taking a seat on an empty park bench.  
  
"Well, you have perfect timing, I was just about to head out the door." Mac said. "What did you want to ask me?"  
  
Maxie paused for a second. Trying to think of how to ask him, she finally decided to come out and flat out ask him.  
  
"Did you leave a note for me in my room this morning?" Maxie asked as she found herself holding her breath for some reason.  
  
Mac didn't know what Maxie was talking about. "A note?" he asked. "No Maxie, I didn't leave a note in your room." He said.  
  
Maxie was stunned. She fell silent. If the note wasn't from him....then who was it from?  
  
Mac noticed the silence. "Is everything okay...and what's this about a note?" he asked concerned.  
  
Maxie decided to not involve him in this. She faked a laugh. "Oh, it was probably Georgie....she just left me a goofy riddle in the note." She said. "Well I better get off my cell phone because I don't want to waste my minutes."  
  
"Okay, I'll see you after work. I'm getting off around dinnertime so I'll be home for dinner. Have fun at the hospital and don't work too hard." Mac said.  
  
"I won't work too hard. Bye Dad." Maxie said drawing the conversation to a close  
  
"Bye Max." Mac said.  
  
With that, Maxie ended the phone call and put her cell phone back in her purse. She knew damn right that Georgie didn't write that note. The writing that was on that note was not that of a girl, but that of a guy. It then hit her....someone was in her room. Maxie knew she felt a breeze that morning when she woke up. "Could it have been Dillon?" she asked out loud. She shook her head immediately dismissing the thought. "Dillon wouldn't be leaving me a note. If he left a note, it would be for Georgie." She said. Maxie still remembered what the note said.... "Look into the past for someone is not lost in it." She said out loud repeating the contents of the note to herself. She knew it was some kind of a riddle, but Maxie hated riddles. Georgie was more of a riddle- solver than she was. Maxie knew she couldn't solve one if her life depended on it. 


	4. Chapter 3

From the Ashes  
  
Authors Note: Chapter 3 is up lol. This chapter took me a while to wring since its pretty long. Thanks so much for the reviews for Chapters 1 + 2. For everyone wanting the long awaited Zaxie interaction/scenes, you don't want to miss the end of this chapter ;) And I fixed something in chapter 1 that needed to be fixed. It was part of the Nikolas/Emily scene.  
  
And finally...don't forget to review! I love reading reviews and it encourages me to write more and more often than if I didn't get any lol  
  
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Luke and Skye walked into the shoe store and looked at the ice skates on the shelves. Skye took a seat down on a chair while Luke took the liberty of looking for red skates first.  
  
"I don't see any red skates Luke." Skye said as she looked over at him. "Looks like I'll have to just get the traditional white ones." Skye was glad about that fact. She didn't know how she would look in red skates.  
  
"Hold your horses Red...I'm not done looking yet." Luke said as he walked over to a sales clerk. "Hi, excuse me...-" he paused reading his nametag. *James...Well James seems like an intelligent name. Hopefully this guy is as intelligent as his name sounds* "Excuse me James, my friend and I are looking for a pair of ice skates...size 7 ½ in women's...but we are looking for some red skates."  
  
James studied the older man's face and thought for a moment. "Well...we usually don't carry red skates...." He paused. "Wait, I think we may have on pair in the back. I'll be right back sir." He said and then disappeared into the back  
  
Luke walked back over to Skye and sat down next to her with a grin plastered across his face. Skye knew that look all too well. "They don't seriously have a pair of red skates do they??" she asked.  
  
"Wait and see Red." Luke replied as he turned around and waited for James to come back.  
  
Skye turned around also and saw the young man come back out with a box. She watched him come over to them and then turned back around. James knelt down and opened the box. Skye saw the fire truck red skates and her mouth nearly dropped open. James instructed her to take off her right shoe and a still shocked Skye did as he asked. James slid the skate onto her foot and it was a perfect fit.  
  
"How does that feel mam?" James asked standing up and looking at Skye,  
  
"I'll tell you in a second." Skye replied as she stood up. The skate on her right foot felt perfect. Not too tight, not too loose, not to big, not too small....it was almost like fate. "It fits...perfectly actually." She said still amazed. Luke smiled. "Looks like a winner to me. We will take these ice skates...box them up, wrap them up and do whatever you do with them!" he said to James with a laugh. "You are really going to stand out at that ice pond Skye." He said grinning at her.  
  
Skye took the skate off and handed it to James so he could put it back in its box with its mate the left skate and then ring them up. She told Luke she would buy a pair of red skates if there were any, she was keeping her word. "I'm most definitely going to stand out. Between my red hair and these skates, you won't be able to miss me." She said with a slight smile.  
  
"That's the spirit Skye." Luke said as he watched Skye put her right shoe back on. The two walked over to the cash register and paid for their purchase.  
  
"Have a nice day." James called out to them as they were leaving.  
  
"You too." Luke and Skye answered together. The two then left the store and started walking towards Luke's car.  
  
"Now all we got to do is pick up Lulu and we will beat the whole crowd to the pond. We can skate until everyone starts showing up and then leave." Luke told Skye. "And you should wear a red outfit you know...then you can be all the way red." He joked.  
  
"Absolutely not!" Skye said with a laugh. "I'll look like a fireball." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*  
  
Dillon and Georgie arrived at the pond and realized that they were the first ones there. They quickly put on their skates and laced them up.  
  
"It looks like we get the pond to ourselves for a little bit." Dillon said with a grin as he stood up all set to go ice-skating.  
  
Georgie smiled as she slowly rose to her feet. "It looks that way and it works for me....that way nobody sees me fall."  
  
"Except for me." Dillon replied as he stepped onto the ice-covered pond.  
  
"Are you sure its sturdy?" Georgie asked before she stepped on. She was afraid of falling through the ice whenever she would go skating on a pond or on a lake.  
  
Dillon stomped his foot on the ice where he was standing. "It looks sturdy to me...now come on."  
  
Georgie sighed as she slowly and cautiously stepped on the ice. She felt the slippery ice underneath her ice skates and nearly fell when she tried to take her first step. Thankfully Dillon glided over to her and placed his hands on her waist saving her from falling on her butt.  
  
"Careful." He said as he smiled warmly at her.  
  
"Thanks." Georgie replied with a smile. "Lets see how long it takes me to fall." She said as she felt Dillon remove his hands from her waist. She felt like her safety net was gone once he let go of her. Georgie tried to take another step and this one went better. She didn't almost fall this time. "Maybe I'm not as bad at this as I remember." She said.  
  
Dillon skated along side Georgie circling her. "You will be fine." He said.  
  
Georgie started skating a further distance and slowly got the hang of it....least she thought so. Soon Dillon and Georgie were skating side by side laughing and enjoying having the pond to themselves. The two soon realized that they had company as they saw Nikolas and Emily Cassadine arrive at the pond.  
  
"Hey Emily...the ice is great!" Dillon called out to her. Emily was one of Dillon's favorite members of the Quartermaine family. She wasn't greedy, snobby or...well a typical Quartermaine.  
  
______________  
  
Emily and Nikolas had decided to go skating for a little bit early in the day to take their mind off of what day it was. They were hoping to get to the pond early to beat out the crowd. Emily smiled as she saw her half brother Dillon and his girlfriend having a good time on the pond.  
  
"Hey Dillon!" Emily called over to Dillon. She sat down on a bench and started to take off her shoes to put her skates on. She noticed Nikolas take a seat next to her.  
  
"It looks like Dillon is having a good time." Nikolas commented and then took off his shoes, put on his skates, and started lacing them up.  
  
"Yeah, I'm so happy for him and Georgie. They are a match made in heaven, I hope they can survive my family." Emily said with a slight laugh. "My family is very picky about who their members are involved with."  
  
"No kidding." Nikolas said with grin. "They weren't too thrilled about me once they found out I was broke at the time we got engaged." He said. "Now...they tolerate me, mostly since we got that money from the treasure." He stood once he finished lacing up his skates and extended his hand to Emily to help her on her feet.  
  
Emily took his hand and felt him help her to her feet. She smiled as she gazed out onto the pond watching Dillon and Georgie skating around. "They are pretty good." She said after watching them for a moment.  
  
Nikolas put his arm around her shoulders. "Yep...but we are just as good as they are." He said.  
  
"Oh really?" Emily asked with a smile. "I don't know about that, but lets find out!" she took off onto the pond. Nikolas laughed and then took off after her.  
  
"Try and catch me Prince!" Emily called out laughing as she sped around the pond. She knew Nikolas hated being called 'prince'. She looked behind her shoulder to see Nikolas trying to catch up with her. Emily glided past Dillon and Georgie who she noticed moved quickly out of her path along with Nikolas'.  
  
Emily and Nikolas raced along the pond for a long time until Emily had to stop to catch her breath. She came to a stop and then slowly made her way off the pond. She noticed Nikolas do the same. Emily found the bench that she had laced up her skates on and sat down.  
  
Nikolas stood in front of her breathing heavily. "Giving up?" He asked looking at her.  
  
Emily smiled. "Yeah, I'm whipped...and so are you from the way you are breathing....come on take a seat. I know you must be as tired as I am." She said.  
  
Nikolas didn't object, he took a seat next to Emily. They sat in silence for a few minutes. Nikolas looked over at her. "So, what's my prize?" he joked with a grin.  
  
Emily smiled. "Oh I'll give you your prize all right!" she said and playfully hit him.  
  
"Ouch! That hurt!" Nikolas said with a laugh. "Just kidding." He added.  
  
Emily rolled her eyes jokingly. "Mmm..hmm...sure." she joked as she looked into his eyes. Nikolas cupped her face softly with his hands and brought her lips to his in a soft kiss. _________  
  
Helena Cassadine was a very busy woman these days, trying to think of a way to get rid of Skye Chandler Quartermaine...or whatever her last name was. She found herself at the ice pond where she was to meet with Tracy. Since it was such a public place nobody would suspect anything if they saw them talking. She had come up with one idea, but she had to arrange everything first. As she was waiting on Tracy, Helena saw her grandson in a lip-lock with his wife on a bench. Helena groaned as she watched for a second. Oh how she despised Nikolas' relationship with Emily. *That little Quartermaine twit* she thought to herself. Helena tried everything and anything to break those two up. She ended up getting banned from her own grandson's wedding because of it. Helena didn't blame herself for that, she thought she was doing Nikolas a favor of getting him away from Emily...apparently Nikolas didn't see it that way. She decided she would go and see how her grandson was doing and waltzed right up to the pair. Helena loudly cleared her throat to make her presence known.  
  
Nikolas and Emily parted and Nikolas groaned at seeing his grandmother. "Hello Helena." He said with a sigh. "What a 'pleasant' surprise."  
  
Helena was used to the sarcasm and simply ignored it. "Its nice to see you again...I still have noticed that you haven't come to your senses and divorced this brat."  
  
Emily opened her mouth to object but decided not to say anything. She wouldn't give Helena the satisfaction of getting to her.  
  
"Come on grandmother, if you can't say anything nice about Emily then I suggest you turn yourself around and walk away in the opposite direction. Like it or not, Emily is part of our family. She is a Cassadine through marriage and that's how it's going to stay." Nikolas gave Helena a look of warning. He didn't feel like dealing with Helena today.  
  
Helena was about to say something in response when she noticed Tracy out of the corner of her eye waving her over. "Fine, I'll leave...but mark my word, this marriage of yours is never going to last. Emily Quartermaine is not good enough for you my darling Nikolas, she never will be." Helena turned around on the heel of her boot and walked off in the opposite direction.  
  
"Wow...she actually left us alone." Emily said amazed.  
  
"Yeah, that's very unlike Helena. She has either.... A) Lost her touch, B) She is not feeling well, or C) She is up to something." Nikolas said. "Take your guess at the reason." He said sighing as he watched Helena's figure turn a corner and go out of site. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Maxie made her way back to the Scorpio House and got ready for work. She quickly ran out the door and hurried over to University Hospital just a minute or so early. Maxie always cut it close, but she was never late.  
  
Bobbie Spencer noticed Maxie step off the elevator and walked over to her. "Hello Maxie." She said with a smile. She got used to seeing Maxie every weekend. Maxie Jones was one of the most dedicated volunteers she had seen in a while and it was a breath of fresh air to her.  
  
"Hey Bobbie." Maxie said with a slight smile. "So what am I doing today?" she asked.  
  
"Well, you are working behind the desk...I know it gets kind of boring after a while, but think of it as an easy day." Bobbie said sugar coating the job...well trying to at least. Bobbie's paged suddenly started to beep and she checked it. "I got to run, they need me in surgery....don't have too much fun behind that desk." She said and then went off towards surgery.  
  
Maxie watched Bobbie until she was out of sight and took her place behind the desk. Just her luck...she had to push papers around for the whole entire day. Maxie couldn't wait for her day to be over with already. She got off around 2:00pm and it was now just 9:00am on the nose. She sighed as she began filing some papers and trying to keep busy to pass the time. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
It seemed like forever before her lunch break arrived. Maxie was so thankful that it was 11:30am. She had a half hour to scarf down her lunch before she had to be back behind the desk until 2:00pm. Maxie slowly made her way down to the cafeteria and had to buy her lunch since she forgot to pack herself one before she bolted out of the house. She ended up getting what looked like macaroni and cheese, but Maxie wasn't quite sure if that was what it was.  
  
As she sat down at an empty table with her tray, Maxie started to remember what day it was. She had forgotten for a little bit but now that she had time to think to herself, she remembered it again.  
  
___________________________  
  
Alexis Davis walked inside the hospital cafeteria to get herself something to eat. She was going to need all the energy she could get to make it through this day. She had already had a rough morning. She lost two people she deeply cared about in that blaze a year ago that day, Zander Smith and Cameron Lewis. Alexis desperately wished she could have done something to prevent what happened. She kicked herself daily for treating them as poorly as she did at times. It also was going to be a year today since she spilled her secret about Kristina being Sonny's daughter to Carly  
  
She pushed those thoughts out of her head and once again thought about both Cameron and Zander...father and son whose lives were both claimed by that deadly fire. She made sure that she gave them the best memorial service possible and she was a basket case during the whole thing.  
  
Cameron was her rock for a long time. He kept more of her secrets than anyone and always tried to reason with her. Even thought she didn't show it, she appreciated him trying to help her not do anything stupid. He helped her fake a alternate personality in court...laid his professional career on the lime numerous times for her...why?...Alexis seemed to ponder that and she came to the conclusion that Cameron was a good person who cared a lot about her and her daughter. She now regretted a lot of things when it came to her...well her relationship with him. If she could go back, she would change a lot of things.............  
  
Alexis had gone to the hospital to visit a client. She had the unfortunate pleasure of not having this Saturday off, which she honestly didn't like. Her job never had a 'usual schedule' of days which she worked. Some weekends she worked, others she didn't. The only good thing about working this Saturday was that she got a distraction from her thoughts about that fire. Alexis had decided that she had might as well have lunch there at the hospital. Even though the food left a lot to be desired, she didn't feel like going to a restaurant and waiting a while for her food. Once Alexis got her tray, she noticed Maxie sitting at a table with a tray as well and decided to join her.  
  
"Is this seat taken?" Alexis asked interrupting Maxie's thoughts.  
  
Maxie turned her head to see Alexis. "Nope, its all yours." She said with a slight smile as she watched Alexis take a seat.  
  
"So, how are you doing?" Alexis asked noticing how down Maxie seemed to look. She figured it had to be about the fire.  
  
"Is it that obvious that something is wrong?" Maxie asked with a sigh.  
  
Alexis nodded. "Yeah it is...and I don't blame you. You and I have something in common...we both lost people we cared about in that fire and we miss them...a lot. I know you and Zander didn't know each other for very long, but I could tell that you cared about him and vise versa. Otherwise, you wouldn't have helped him when everyone bailed on him....including myself." She said.  
  
Maxie tried to smile just a little bit and couldn't. "You really miss Dr. Lewis a lot don't you?"  
  
Alexis nodded and sighed at the same time. "Yeah, I really do. Like you were to Zander...Cameron was to me. He helped me when nobody else would. I trusted him...like I know Zander trusted you." She said. Alexis picked up her fork and pushed her food around on her plate. She suddenly wasn't hungry anymore.  
  
Maxie watched Alexis push her food around and then looked back at her tray. The two women sat in silence for a little bit each lost in their own thoughts. Maxie decided to change the topic. "How is Kristina doing?...." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Luke and Skye arrived to the ice pond with Lulu. Skye and Luke exchanged glances as they saw how crowded it was. Luke looked at his watch....it was 11:55 am going on noon, so it was understandable. Luke and Skye's whole day got thrown off schedule mainly because Lulu had trouble finding her skates along with her winter stuff.  
  
"Well, least we know we are going to have a lot of company here." Skye said as the three of them sat down on a bench to lace up their skates.  
  
Lulu smiled brightly. "You bet. I can't wait to get skating! Daddy thanks so much for taking me...you too Skye." She said.  
  
Luke took off his shoes and started lacing on his skates. "No problem Princess." He said as he looked at Skye lacing up her skates. He chuckled to himself because her skates were fire truck red. Luke managed to find a pair especially for Skye and Skye had promised him that if there were a pair of red ice skates, that she would buy them....and that she did.  
  
Skye felt a bit awkward and embarrassed to be wearing those ice skates, but Luke and Lulu seemed to enjoy them, so that didn't make it as bad. She finished getting them on and smiled slightly in triumph. Skye always hated lacing up skates, she found it pretty annoying.  
  
Lulu bounced up once she finished getting her skates on and made a mad dash out to the pond running in her skates.  
  
"Don't trip!" Skye called out to her and was glad once Lulu made it on the ice without falling.  
  
"Ahh...she wasn't going to trip. She's a Spencer, we happen to be very graceful." Luke replied with a grin as he stood up. Luke and Skye made it out onto the pond and stood there for a moment looking for Lulu. "Now where did that girl skate off to?" Luke pondered out loud.  
  
Skye shrugged. "I have no idea." She said sighing slightly.  
  
"Looks like its me and you for a while then Blaze." Luke said as he put his arm around her jokingly.  
  
"Oh goodie." Skye said and then smiled pushing his arm off of her. She tried to skate around a bit but found her newly bought red skates to be a pain. "These stupid things are a piece of crap Luke!" she exclaimed.  
  
"Ahh...don't complain. They just need to be broken in a bit." Luke replied skating up beside her. "Just close your eyes and imagine you are walking like normal."  
  
"I don't think so....-" Skye started but was cut off.  
  
"Come on Blaze...humor me." Luke said raising a brow.  
  
"Oh fine!" Skye huffed giving in. She closed her eyes and took a step as if she were walking on normal ground. It didn't go well at all, Skye's skate got caught in a chip of ice that was on the pond and she ended up falling but she took Luke down with her as well. She opened her eyes and realized that they were both were not longer standing but on the cold ice ground. "Oh my god...I'm so sorry Luke....I should have never listened to that whacked idea of yours...are you okay?"  
  
Luke looked furious for a minute and then broke out into shear laughter. "Of course I'm fine!" he said while laughing. "A little fall won't kill me. Besides, I have a feeling it is going to be the highlight of my day." He slowly got up and extended his hand to Skye to help her to her feet. Skye took his hand and was standing again in a second thanks to Luke's strength along with her own.  
  
Lulu came gliding up next to them. "I saw the whole thing...and boy did you look funny." She said with a smile and started giggling.  
  
Luke looked over at Skye and grinned. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Courtney didn't know why she let Carly talk her into going ice-skating. She was in no mood to do anything today since all she could think about was that fire. 'It will be fun Courtney...just us two girls' she remembered Carly saying. After a while of arguing and going back and forth with Carly, Courtney finally gave in. She would skate around for an hour or so, humor Carly and then leave.  
  
The two former mob wives stepped out onto the ice in their skates and just skated slowly together, talking about simple things...the weather, Carly's kids, Courtney's new job and other things. Speaking of Courtney's new job, she was now a businesswoman. She had taken a job offer offered to her by the rich Jasper 'Jax' Jacks. Courtney was happy with her new job because it didn't involve the mob and it was 100% free of guns and violence.  
  
Courtney and Jax got along quite well actually....they had common interests about how things should be run in his company and were quick thinkers. Courtney and Jax only kept a professional relationship. The two never once brought up their relationship problems, it was strictly business. Courtney figured that was because each didn't want to pry into the other's life...and it was none of their business anyway.  
  
Courtney tried her hardest not to talk about Jason, even with Carly. She knew that Carly and Jason were still friends and she accepted that and she respected that. They had been friends before her relationship with Jason and there was no reason for them to stop because her marriage to Jason ended in divorce. Besides, whenever she would talk about Jason....she would miss him more. The only thing that took her mind off of Jason was work.  
  
Courtney and Carly were on the topic of the weather believe it or not, when Courtney's cell phone rang. She had kept it in her coat pocket incase of emergencies. Courtney quickly picked up. "Hello?"  
  
"Hey Court, its Jax." Jax's voice said from the other end of the line. "I'm sorry to bother you...especially on a Saturday, but I was wondering if you had everything set for Monday's meeting?" he asked. "If not, we can put it right before the meeting Monday morning."  
  
Courtney smiled slightly...it was just like Jax always concerned about the business and always flexible. Carly gave her a curious look wondering who it was on the other line. Courtney held up her pointer finger telling Carly that she would tell her in a minute.  
  
"Everything is set." Courtney said. "You shouldn't worry too much, the meeting will go fine." She assured him.  
  
"Yeah, your right...I'll see you Monday. Have a nice rest of the weekend." Jax's voice said.  
  
"You too...bye." Courtney said and then hung up.  
  
Carly already had the mystery person on the other line figured out when the word 'meeting' came up. "Hmm...let me guess...it was Jax." She said.  
  
Courtney nodded. "You guessed right." She replied.  
  
"You seem to enjoy your new life out of the mob. You know...you were my role model for getting out too." Carly said.  
  
Courtney remembered when right after her custody hearing started for Carly's kids that Carly broke things off with Lorenzo. Courtney knew Carly didn't want to be in that lifestyle again and she knew that Lorenzo...like Sonny could never get out of that life. Lorenzo didn't take things well, but let her go in peace. Sonny calmed down a bit after hearing Carly broke off all ties with Lorenzo and Carly even allowed him to visit the children frequently even though she won custody of them.  
  
"You know...you aren't completely out, you still have ties with Jason." Courtney pointed out as they continued to skate along.  
  
Carly smiled. "Yeah, I know...but its Jason. I will always have ties to Jason." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
: Nighttime:  
  
Maxie walked into her room after finishing cleaning up the kitchen with Georgie after dinner. She sighed as she flopped down onto her bed.  
  
The rest of Maxie's shift had passed by pretty quickly once her lunch break was over. She just filed documents until it was time for her to leave. Upon returning home, Maxie changed out of her uniform and threw back on what she was wearing earlier that morning before she went to General Hospital. Maxie then did all of the homework that she had for college for the weekend since she just felt like it. After having a 'blah' day, she didn't mind doing schoolwork as much. Once she had that all done, Maxie laid down on her bed and flipped on her TV. She got interested in a movie that was on. It was entitled Beverly Hills Cop and it was an old comedy movie with a young Eddie Murphy in it. Maxie mainly stuck to watching anything comedy these days, it made her laugh and wasn't sad or depressing like dramas and some love stories were. Once that ended, Maxie and Georgie, who had just gotten home, cooked spaghetti for dinner. Mac came home and the family had a nice quiet dinner making chitchat. And once dinner was over with, Maxie and Georgie cleaned up....and now Maxie had returned to her room to crash for the night.  
  
Maxie grabbed a book off her bookshelf and flipped it open. She had begun reading it about 2 weeks ago and was about half way through with it. Maxie didn't even bother changing into her PJ's; she just flicked on her lamp, got comfortable on her bed, and began reading where she had left off. She had only planned on reading a few chapters, but found it hard to set the book down and the further she got, the more determined she got to finishing the book that night.  
  
Maxie set the book aside and closed her eyes for a second giving them a rest, the strain of reading was making her more tired by the moment. Maxie hadn't planned on falling asleep then and there but she ended up doing so....drifting off into the dream world. She was oblivious to the sound of her window opening hours after she had fallen asleep.....  
  
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He stepped inside of her room making sure not to make a single sound. This wasn't the first time he was in there, so he knew what he was doing. He wondered if Maxie understood the riddle he left in the note or not. His eyes scanned the room; he noticed that Maxie still had her lamp on and that she was fast asleep in her clothes with a book lying right next to her.  
  
He smiled to himself as he looked at the one person who believed in him during the end of his time in Port Charles a year ago to the day. He glanced at his own watch taking his eyes off of her for a moment. It was 2:30 am so he would leave his next note now and then split before anybody knew he was there.  
  
He made his way over to where he had left the first note and placed the new one there, he knew that she would figure out who the notes were from eventually because she was an intelligent young woman.  
  
He made his way back over to the window in which he would exit, when he looked back over at Maxie. He stopped in his tracks and walked over to her bed and her nightstand. He scanned the room and noticed a blanket lying on a nearby chair and went over to it and picked it up. He opened it up and laid it on top of her so she would be warm. He then turned towards her nightstand that had her lamp on it. He peered underneath the big shade trying to figure out how her particular lamp shut off. He fumbled around with the lamp before he finally got it to turn off. He quickly glanced over at Maxie's figure making sure she was still asleep. Now the room was dark and he didn't mind. He had navigated around her room in the dark before, so this was no problem. He quickly whipped around to head towards the window and as he did this, he knocked into her nightstand knocking something onto the ground making a loud noise....  
  
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Maxie's dream was interrupted by a loud noise close to her. She jolted awake and sat up as she felt the cool air on her skin once again *He is here....right now* she thought to herself. She turned her head towards her nightstand and saw a dark figure next to it. Terror ran through her body. She went to scream when saw the man leaned quickly across to her and she instantly felt the man's hand fall gently over her mouth.  
  
"Shhh....don't scream." His gentle voice said.  
  
Maxie was too afraid to think about or concentrate on anything except what was going to happen to her now. She failed to recognize his voice...even though it was above a whisper. She found herself nodding and watched as the man used his other hand to reach towards her lamp probably to turn it on. She watched as he fumbled for the switch and then turned it on. Light emitted from the lamp and clearly lit up his face. Maxie looked at him in shock and surprise.  
  
"Oh my god....Zander." she said her voice trailing off. 


	5. Chapter 4

From the Ashes  
  
Authors Note: Chapter 4 is up lol. This chapter is all Zaxie. Thanks for the feedback for Chapter 3 (  
  
I flipped on GH the other day and watched as Ric confirmed the charred Body found in the boiler room to be Zander's...well I don't believe that for a single second. The current spoilers out there are so confusing. I can't make heads or tails out of a lot of them. Anyway, my fic isn't going to include any of those spoilers/potential spoilers. I wrote my own What Happened to Zander thing here because the show is going down the tubes with this trying to make some lame-o storyline out of it.  
  
Okay, with that said...back to my fic. Everyone else is sleeping during this chapter and they will be back in the next chapter.  
  
And finally...don't forget to review! I love reading reviews and it encourages me to write more and more often than if I didn't get any lol  
  
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Maxie couldn't believe it...the man she thought was dead for the last year was actually alive. She fell silent as she looked into his eyes. Was she dreaming?? Maxie didn't want to blink or anything in fear that when she would open her eyes, Zander would be gone. She noticed he was dressed in black, which she figured would make him harder to see. He most definitely gave her a scare.  
  
She finally found the power to talk again. She licked her lips before she spoke. "Am I dreaming?" she asked him. Maxie knew it sounded stupid, but that's what she was afraid of. She had dreamed about Zander before....for a while actually. From the time of the fire up to two months after it happened.  
  
Zander took a seat on the foot of her bed. "Nah, you are not dreaming Maxie." He said with a slight grin. That grin quickly fell into a face that was serious. "I didn't mean to frighten you, you weren't supposed to see me." Zander didn't want her involved in his life again. He just wanted to let her know that he was alive, he didn't plan on her seeing him again.  
  
Maxie quickly moved over next to him on the foot of her bed. She knew she wasn't dreaming now...she heard his voice. Just in case, she reached out and touched his arm. She pulled back... he was real all right. "Just making sure." She said with a slight smile. She wanted to tell Zander how much she missed him, but opted not to for the time being.  
  
She had so many questions for Zander....How did he get out of the fire? Why didn't he want her seeing him, why hadn't he picked up the phone and told her he was alive? She finally decided to go ahead and ask some of her questions. "How did you survive the fire?" she asked as she looked into his eyes.  
  
Zander got up and walked over to the light switch and turned it on lighting up the entire room. He ran his fingers through his hair. "Someone let me out." He replied as memories of the event flooded his mind.  
  
**Flashback**  
  
The room was in flames; a circle of fire surrounded an unconscious Zander Smith.  
  
Zander's eyes slowly opened and he looked around him. The realization of the fire hit him like a ton of bricks. He got up on his feat and felt the intense heat of the flames. Panic ran through him...he didn't want to die this way, he wanted to live. Zander studied the circle of fire and knew he had to get out before he burnt to death. The fumes were starting to sicken him; he knew he didn't have much time to get out. Zander quickly pulled his shirt over his head. He tried to beat down the fire with it enough so he could get out....it worked a little bit. Zander knew he had two options...jump through the fire or try and leap over it. Zander decided to try and jump over it since beating it down seemed to weaken it.  
  
He backed up as far as he could, got two and took a giant leap, barely clearing the fire. He landed on the ground with a thud and felt pain go through his body. He quickly forced himself to get up and went for the door banging on it.  
  
"Someone let me out of here!" he yelled over and over again. Zander was now coughing pretty hard and he was about to give up and try to prepare himself for death when the door opened. He saw the face of an electrical man and so glad to see someone.  
  
The man seemed shocked to see someone down there. "Are you okay sir?" he asked.  
  
Zander quickly nodded. "I'm fine....thank you!. He quickly went through the door, which led out to the lobby of the hotel and looked back at the man. "Aren't you coming?" he asked as he noticed he wasn't coming with him. He was actually going down the stairs.  
  
"I'm going to try and put the fire out and figure out if what I think happened, happened that caused this fire." The man called out to him.  
  
Zander then realized he had 2 fire extinguishers but he knew it was still dangerous "You don't want to go in there...its about engulfed in flames!"  
  
Zander knew he got through to him. He saw the man nod and turn around heading up the stairs.  
  
Zander looked around the lobby. It wasn't completely engulfed in flames yet. "I'm going to try the back way out of here." He said.  
  
The man tossed him a fire extinguisher. "Take this. I'll be right back.."  
  
Before Zander could say or do anything, the man returned back to the boiler room. Zander stood there wanting to see the man get out of there since he saved his life. A minute or so later, a man's scream filled the air which caused Zander to run, the best he could, since his injured leg still hurt from being shot, towards the stairs . Zander noticed one of the heavy metal machines had fallen on top of the man. Zander decided he had to try and save him since the man saved him. "If you can hear me...don't move, I'm coming."  
  
Zander made his way over to the man and managed to pull him out from underneath the machine. He noticed his head was bashed in and quickly felt for a pulse. Nothing....there was no pulse. The man that saved Zander from burning alive in the boiler room was dead. Zander heard people upstairs and figured out that they had to be the cops from what he could hear the distant voices were saying. He decided he would let the cops save the body. Zander quickly made his way over to the stairs and exited the boiler room leaving the door open but not noticing it closed right behind him instantly.. Zander made his way towards the back of the lobby towards the exit door.  
  
Upon arriving at the lobby's back exit, he used his fire extinguisher a few times that probably saved his life. Without it, there was no way he could have gotten this far. Zander turned the knob and opened the door feeling the cool air on his skin. Freedom...Zander knew he wasn't going to die now. He quickly went through the door exiting the burning hotel and vanished into the night.....  
  
**End of Flashback**  
  
Zander looked back over at Maxie. "An electrical man happened to come down there and let me out....otherwise, I would have burned to death down there." He said.  
  
Maxie stood up and walked towards him. "Thank God that you got out." She said. "How was Canada?" she asked. Maxie remembered him telling her that he planned on going to Canada once he got out of the hotel and out of Port Charles. She knew he had gone there.  
  
Zander was a little puzzled by how she mentioned Canada. He didn't think he told her about going there. It then clicked that he had indeed told her about going there the last time they talked before the fire. "It was okay, I hid out for a long time while there and got rested and healed up." He explained. He paused....he had a few questions of his own. "How have you been Maxie?" he asked.  
  
Maxie sighed softly. "Not so well. The whole event of the fire really had an impact on me. I wasn't the same since. My father Mac, he got severely injured in the fire...and then you were presumed to be lost...." She paused as she remembered about someone else who was lost in the fire...Cameron. "Zander, there is something you need to know....its about your dad." She said softly. Maxie had to tell him now before he found out some other way. She hoped he would find some sort of comfort in her telling him instead of someone else or from another source.  
  
Zander knew something was wrong from the tone of her voice and the look in her eyes. He felt a sickening feeling come over him. "What is it?" he asked.  
  
Maxie looked down for a second and then looked back up at Zander. "He is dead...." She started. "He died in the Port Charles fire saving Lucky Spencer....I am so sorry Zander."  
  
Zander felt a sharp pain in his side. Zander and Cameron never really got along because of their past history, but Cameron was still his father. Zander never wanted him to die. Zander looked away for a moment letting it all sink in. "The fire...who else died?" he asked hoping nobody else that he cared about died.  
  
Maxie knew the list of names off the top of her head. "Just Officer Brian Beck and Officer Capelli." She replied.  
  
Zander looked back at Maxie at the mention of Brian Beck....the man he was accused of shooting. "Am I still a fugitive? Did they find the man that really shot Beck?" he asked.  
  
Maxie shrugged. "I'm not sure how that works since Brian is dead...but Capelli was the one who shot and killed him....I bet he was the one who shot him the first time, a court would believe that."  
  
"Any court under Lansing's thumb would lock me up and throw away the key if I ever decided to reveal myself." Zander said as he looked out her bedroom window. "It was a bitch getting in here." He said with a slight grin. "I had to climb the tree and everything...I haven't done that in a while."  
  
Maxie laughed slightly. "I bet it was...you know, you could have picked up the phone and called me or something."  
  
Zander raised a brow. "I'm far more creative than that...besides, I don't know your number and I couldn't get my hands on a phone book." He said. "I stumped you with my note didn't I?"  
  
Maxie nodded smiling. "You sure did...your writing looks like my father's so I thought it was his....and then I thought for a split second that it was from my sister's boyfriend...then I didn't know who it was from."  
  
"So how has everyone else in Port Charles been?" Zander asked curiously.  
  
Maxie pressed her lips together in thought. "Well...my sister got back together with her ex boyfriend....Mac recovered...my mom came home for a little bit and then split, Alexis is doing a good job raising Kristina... Nikolas and Emily got married..." she paused and then felt like an idiot for bringing up Emily. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought her up." She apologized.  
  
Zander shook his head. "I've had a lot of time to think about Emily and other things while I was in Canada. I realized that I am never getting her back. The Emily Quartermaine that loved me is gone....only Nikolas is in her heart now. I was so numb once I lost her...that's why I did such stupid things like getting involved with Faith Roscoe. A part of me will always love Emily but that chapter of my life is closed and I'm going to not let loosing Emily spiral me out of control again."  
  
"Are you going to be okay?" Maxie asked him as her heart went out to him. She knew it must have hurt him coming to this...giving up on Emily. The way he described the prom that he took her to...the way he felt about her. That was love.  
  
He sighed slightly. "Yeah, I'm okay now I think." Zander replied deciding to change the subject off of Emily. "Speaking of messed up love lives...is that jerk that stomped on your heart still in town?" he asked.  
  
Maxie shook her head. "No...Kyle left town after high school ended." She said. "He went to some other college...most certainly not the one I'm going to. I'm going to a community college here in Port Charles."  
  
"The college days...you are a freshmen right?" Zander asked figuring she had to be.  
  
Maxie nodded and before she realized it, she was starting to ramble. "Yeah, and I'm living at home since my family is tight on money. When Mac got hurt, we had expensive medical bills and expenses..." she paused as she looked into his eyes.  
  
She was tired of dancing around what was really going through her mind....how she felt. "I missed you." She said out of the blue. "I was never the same once I thought you were gone...I can't explain it, but everything was so different..." tears started to form in her eyes. She looked away. "Great, here come the water works...." She said trying not to let the tears fall.  
  
Zander hated to see Maxie upset like this. He reached out and gently wiped her tears away. "Its okay..." he said.  
  
Maxie shook her head. "I've always been strong since the fire around everyone...when Mac was hurt, I was strong for Georgie and for Mac....but when I'm alone, I break down and for some reason I can't be strong now. I can't hide my emotions right now...this is all so overwhelming....."  
  
Before she realized it, Zander pulled her into a hug. Maxie held onto him tightly as the tears fell. She finally composed herself enough to let go. She sniffled slightly and then wiped her eyes.  
  
"I have a favor to ask." Zander said and grinned slightly. "I know I've used up all my favors a long time ago, but heck....I'm asking for another one."  
  
That made Maxie laugh slightly. She did do Zander quite a bit of favors, but she didn't mind...it was for a good cause. "Sure, what do you need?" she asked.  
  
"A place to crash for a little bit. I've been living in my car since I left Canada and its freezing cold in there at night." Zander said as shivered slightly at the thought of spending another night in there. One night in that car was enough.  
  
Maxie jumped at the opportunity of having Zander around. "Sure, you can stay here. You can sleep on the floor and when you hear someone coming, you can hide in the closet like you did before." Maxie said with a slight smile. "And I am going to put something in front of the door too...just incase someone like my nosy sister decides to pop in during the night for whatever reason."  
  
Zander and Maxie pushed her dresser in front of the door and looked at it in satisfaction. "We better get some sleep. I don't want to keep you up all night Maxie." Zander said as he noticed her yawn.  
  
"I guess you are right...let me make you up a bed first. I have a sleeping bag in the closet, extra pillows and blankets too." Maxie said going over to her closet. She opened it up and stepped up on her tiptoes to reach the top shelf where she kept all of those things. One by one, Maxie got everything down and once she was done, she closed her closet door. She laid out the sleeping bag on her floor next to her bed and set the pillow down on top of it where his head would go and set the blankets to the side. "Its no 5 star bed, but it works." She said as she went over to the light switch and shut the it off. Maxie then went over to her own bed and got in it.  
  
Zander got into the sleeping bag and set the blanket on top of him. "Not bad actually." He said. "Just remember to watch were you are stepping if you have to get up during the night."  
  
"I'll remember that." Maxie said as she started to get under the covers.  
  
"You are going to sleep in your clothes?" Zander asked her.  
  
Maxie paused and realized that she was dressed in her regular clothes yet. She shrugged figuring it would be a waste of time getting ready for bed and then having it get dressed a few hours later. "I might as well, since its already tomorrow." She replied getting underneath the covers. Maxie reached across to her lamp to shut it off and stopped for a second. "Hey Zander....promise me you will still be here in the morning."  
  
Zander looked up at her from his sleeping bag on the floor. "I promise." He said with a slight grin.  
  
Maxie then turned off the light and the whole room was pitch black. She laid there as she stared at the ceiling not able to fall asleep. She tried to go to sleep closing her eyes and trying to relax, but all she could think about was what just happened. All her wishes and dreams about Zander had come true. The sweet guy that she remembered dancing with was alive after all. Maxie wondered if Zander was asleep and rolled over and looked down at him on the floor. "Zander?? Are you awake?" she whispered.  
  
Zander hadn't had much better luck falling asleep. Between the floor hurting his back and his deep thoughts about seeing Maxie again and his memories resurfacing about the fire, he hadn't fallen asleep yet. He heard Maxie whisper something about him being awake to him and sat up. "I'm awake." He said looking up at her. He rose to his feet and flicked on the lamp again, lighting up the room once more.  
  
Maxie shut her eyes her eyes a little sensitive to the light at first. She opened them and looked over at Zander. "Since we both can't sleep...why don't we watch some TV together? You can come up here on my bed so you can see it."  
  
Zander wasn't so sure about that. He could definitely tell that Maxie wasn't a kid and was no longer a high school girl but figured it would be okay...it was innocent and besides, they were friends. He nodded, turned off the lamp again and crawled up onto her bed lying down next to Maxie.  
  
Maxie smiled slightly as she found her remote and flicked on her TV. There was some movie on....but neither Zander or Maxie were really interested in it.  
  
Zander looked over at Maxie after a while and noticed that she was fast asleep. Rather than getting up and risking waking Maxie up, Zander figured he would stay put and sleep next to her for the night. He looked at her while she slept. "Goodnight Maxie." He whispered to the one person who believed in him when everyone lost faith in him and then closed his eyes drifting off to sleep. 


	6. Chapter 5

From the Ashes  
  
Authors Note: Chapter 5 is up lol. Its morning in Port Charles at the beginning of this chapter...and the storyline for Luke and Skye is beginning as Helena and Tracey are planning on getting rid of Skye during the evening. The next few chapters after this one are going to involve a lot of Lusky. I've also decided not to continue with the Nem storyline. They will still be in here, but they will be a minor pairing. They will just be a couple that's happy and in the story from time to time lol. Luckily I hadn't even started to develop a storyline for them, so this works out perfectly. So the couples/triangles that are going to have a storyline are: Zaxie, Lusky, GQ, and Carly/Jason/Court/Jax. Oh and another thing...in this fic, Maxie and Georgie aren't too thrilled with their mother Felicia lol.  
  
Thanks for the feedback for Chapter 4 (  
  
And finally...don't forget to review! I love reading reviews and it encourages me to write more and more often than if I didn't get any lol  
  
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Zander's dreams were interrupted by what sounded like somebody pounding on Maxie's bedroom door. He slowly opened his eyes and noticed Maxie was still sleeping next to him. He took a glance over at the clock and realized that it was 8:00 AM.  
  
"Maxie open up!" a voice said from the other side of the door. "It's 8:00 and you need to be at the hospital by 10:00 today and breakfast is waiting on you."  
  
Zander figured that it had to be Maxie's younger sister Georgie. Zander decided that he should wake Maxie up himself. "Maxie....." he whispered as he found himself stroking her hair slightly. He quickly pulled back once he saw her start to stir in her sleep.  
  
Maxie's eyes fluttered open as they focused on the image of Zander right next to her. That was the face that she wanted to see when she woke up for so long and now it happened. "You're still here...." She said with a soft smile and then yawned slightly.  
  
Zander nodded. "Of course I am." He said looking at her. He then remembered about Georgie. "Your sister wants you down for breakfast or something...I think she is outside your door yet...."  
  
Right on cue Georgie's voice, louder than before, filled Maxie's bedroom. "Don't make me come in there Maxie." Georgie's voice said from the other side of the door.  
  
Maxie groaned slightly. "I'll be right there Georgie!" Maxie called out to her sister as she looked at her door. She then glanced back over at Zander. "You better hide...Georgie would flip if she saw you in here."  
  
Zander slightly grinned as he got out of the bed followed by Maxie. The two pushed the dresser away from the door and Zander quickly gathered up the sleeping bag, pillows and blankets that Maxie had gotten out for him and disappeared into the closet. Maxie walked over to the closet door. "I'll get her out as soon as I can." She said before closing the door to her closet.  
  
Maxie walked over to her bedroom door and opened it to see a very annoyed Georgie Jones on the other side. "I'm sorry Georgie...I must have overslept." Maxie said as she watched Georgie take a step inside her room.  
  
Georgie's eyes scanned over the room suspiciously. "Can you tell me why something was pushed in front of your door so I couldn't get in?" she asked turning around and facing her older sister.  
  
Maxie was a little taken off guard by Georgie's question. "Did you try and come in my room?" she asked trying to get Georgie talking about that rather than having to answer her question. She didn't want to lie to her, but would if she had to.  
  
Georgie planted her hands on her hips. "Yes, Mac told me to get you up for breakfast so I tried coming in here-"Maxie instantly cut off Georgie.  
  
"We better get downstairs, I don't want Mac to be waiting any longer." Maxie said and quickly took a hold of Georgie's hand and dragged her out of the room with her.  
  
Zander heard the sound of the bedroom door closing and opened up the closet door and stepped out of it. He was relieved that Maxie seemed to side step Georgie's question. Zander laid back down on the bed and stretched out, relaxing into the soft pillows as he wondered what he was going to do about breakfast.  
  
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Maxie and Georgie arrived downstairs and walked into the kitchen. Maxie noticed her father was already seated at the table along with Dillon. Maxie took her normal seat and began to dish food onto her plate. Both Mac and Dillon noticed she was wearing the same clothes as yesterday.  
  
"Max, do you mind telling me why you have the same clothes that you had on yesterday?" Mac said looking directly into his daughter's eyes wanting an answer. He hoped Maxie hadn't gone back to her partying streak....he liked how she seemed to have matured.  
  
Maxie set her fork down and looked down at her clothes. She knew what Mac must be thinking at the moment and he couldn't be more wrong. "I fell asleep in my clothes reading last night." She replied looking directly back into her father's eyes not showing the slightest bit of hesitation at her answer.  
  
Mac seemed to believe her...at least Maxie hoped he did. She had worked so hard earning her father's trust back; she prayed he didn't loose faith in her that easily. "Okay, I believe you." He said with a grin attempting to lighten up the mood.  
  
Maxie smiled and took a bite of her breakfast, which was French toast. As soon as she chewed her first bite of breakfast, she thought about how Zander was going to get some breakfast. Her mind raced trying to figure out how she was going to get some food up to him.  
  
Georgie and Dillon happily ate away at their food as they talked about this and that. After a long while, Mac decided that now was time for his big announcement. "Hey girls, I have got some news for you." He said getting everyone's attention at the table. Maxie snapped out of her thoughts and Georgie stopped talking to Dillon.  
  
"Okay dad, we are all ears." Georgie said wondering what this was all about.  
  
"Your mother is coming home for a visit." Mac said as he waited for their reaction. Neither Georgie nor Maxie seemed to be too pleased.  
  
"Oh great....what's her reason for coming this time?" Maxie said with a sigh as she cut up a bit of her French toast and popped it into her mouth with her fork and chewed it until it was gone.  
  
"How about to see you girls." Mac replied knowing this wasn't going like he had wanted it to.  
  
Georgie huffed. "Oh that's rich....the only reason she came last time was because you were seriously hurt."  
  
Mac looked at Georgie sighing heavily. "Look, I know you girls still think she abandoned you, but she had good reason to be away...I want you to be nice to her once she gets here."  
  
"When is she getting here?" Maxie asked looking up from her meal.  
  
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Luke Spencer looked at the telephone in the Spencer House. He wondered if Skye was up already or not. He had fun ice-skating with her and Lulu yesterday and Lulu wouldn't stop rambling on and on about how much she liked it. He walked over to the phone and picked it up off its cradle and sat down on the sofa and started dialing the number to the cottage where Skye was living. He hoped that if he woke her, she wouldn't be too upset. Luke punched the final digit into the telephone and placed it up to his ear as it rang waiting to see if someone would pick up.  
  
_______________________  
  
Skye, who was dreaming away in bed, was jolted awake at the loud ringing at her telephone. She groaned and looked at the clock, which read 8:45 AM. She sleepily reached over and grabbed her cordless phone off her nightstand and hit a few buttons before turning it on. "Hello??..." she said sounding half awake.  
  
"Rise and shine Darling." Luke's voice came over the end of the other line. Skye felt like she would strangle him if he were in the room with her right now. What was with him...waking her up yesterday around 7 and now he was waking her up at this time on a Sunday morning. "Luke....are you crazy? This is my day to sleep in....." she said yawning between words.  
  
Luke knew she made a good point; he would need her fresh and refreshed the next day for work at the Haunted Star. "Okay, okay...go back to sleep Red....but promise me something first." He said as he glanced around the room he was in, hoping she would agree.  
  
Skye at that point would agree to anything. She was desperate to go back to bed and sleep in until her heart was content. "Sure...what is it?" she asked trying not to yawn.  
  
"Dinner...you and me tonight." Luke said. "We have business we need to discuss." He quickly added hoping she bought it. The truth was, he just wanted to have dinner with Skye, but he figured she would be more open to accept his invitation if he threw in the word business....he didn't where they were in their odd relationship that they had.  
  
Skye didn't know if it was the lack of sleep or the fact that she was excited about going to dinner with Luke, but she found herself accepting the invitation instantly even though she was very tired. "Sure, Sounds good to me." She said smiling to herself. "What time did you want to have dinner at?"  
  
"I'll pick you up around 6." Luke replied. "And don't ask where we are going, because it's a surprise....oh and wear something Red." He smirked and then hung up the phone putting it back in its cradle.  
  
Skye was greeted with the dial tone and managed to put the phone back on her nightstand before collapsing into the soft pillows in her bed and drifting back off to sleep. The last thing she thought about before going back to sleep was Luke Spencer.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Helena Cassadine looked at the little devise that would result in the ultimate revenge against Luke Spencer...oh revenge was sweet all right. That would teach that self-arrogant bastard for killing Stefan and causing so many problems for the Cassadine family. She knew she couldn't kill Luke physically, he was too clever and powerful...but if she destroyed him emotionally by getting rid of someone he cared about like Skye, then she could break Luke Spencer down emotionally until he was worse off than Laura Spencer was.  
  
The old woman glanced around her hotel room where she was staying at while she was in Port Charles. Windermere was no longer a place she wanted to be since the little twit Emily Quartermaine-Cassadine was living there along with her grandson. Now she just had to figure out the right time to plant this little devise. "Oh times a ticking Skye....you don't have much time left." She snickered and smiled wickedly to herself. She picked up her phone and called Tracy Quartermaine's cell. She had a little job for her partner in crime...she needed to know Skye's plans for the evening.  
  
___________________  
  
Tracey Quartermaine heard her cell phone ring and quickly answered it hoping it was her son Dillon. He had left the house to have breakfast with Georgie and her family, which disgusted Tracey. "Hello?" she barked into the phone once she answered it.  
  
"Aren't you grouchy." Helena's voice came from the other side of the phone. "I just wanted to let you know that we are going to off Miss Red tonight." She said. "I got what I needed to rid the planet of her. Everything including Skye is going away with a boom."  
  
Tracey's eyes got wide as she wondered what Helena meant. "What on earth do you mean?" she questioned.  
  
"I've been thinking of ways to rid her...and I finally decided how to." Helena said.  
  
Tracey wondered what the old woman had come up with. She knew it wouldn't be good for Skye. "Can you give me a hint or something?" she asked.  
  
"No...but I need you to try and figure out her plans for tonight...can you do that?" Helena asked.  
  
Tracey sighed. "Yeah, but I'm not sure what figuring out Skye's plans for the evening is going to accomplish...but I'll do it."  
  
"Just get me the information before tonight and call me back." Helena said and then terminated the conversation.  
  
Tracey heard the dial tone and stuffed her phone back into her purse where she got it from. "Great...how in the world am I going to do this???" she said to herself.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Carly Roberts waltzed up to Jason Morgan's Penthouse door and knocked loudly on it. She was determined to get Jason out and about for a while. It seemed he was all work and nothing else since his divorce to Courtney. She hated being so close to Sonny's Penthouse...which was her home for a while. She could only imagine what he was doing in there...probably Sam McCall for the thousandth time. Since Carly got custody of the children, Sam had moved into Sonny's Penthouse with him. She still had images of those two when she saw them in bed together. Carly shook those images off when she saw Jason's Penthouse doorknob slowly turn and watched the door open. Jason was standing on the other side of the door dressed in a pair of jeans and a black shirt. He seemed a little surprised to see Carly so early in the morning.  
  
"Hey Jase." Carly said with a friendly smile as she took a glance inside of his Penthouse. "I hope I'm not bothering you....but I wanted to stop by and spend some time with my best friend."  
  
"Actually, I'm busy right now Carly." Jason replied in his usual cool and crisp voice.  
  
Carly could tell that he wasn't in a good mood right off the bat. Carly obviously could see through that lie and knew that he wasn't busy. "Oh really?? Well with what Jason??" she questioned forcing her way inside. "You don't look busy."  
  
Jason was becoming annoyed by Carly. "I said I was busy Carly....." he said biting his tongue trying not to snap at her. Jason was in no mood for Carly's games today.  
  
"Work right?" Carly asked rolling her eyes sitting down on his couch. "All you do is seem to work recently...ever since your divorce finalized to Courtney...." She started and was cut off by Jason.  
  
"Don't you have some other place to be?" Jason snapped.  
  
Carly knew she hit a sore spot about Courtney. "You can't evolve your life around the business Jason!" she exclaimed jumping to her feet. "I know your marriage to Courtney didn't work, but you can't do this to yourself. Courtney couldn't handle your lifestyle but I'm sure you will eventually find someone that can."  
  
Jason just stared at her shaking his head. It wasn't that simple, nobody could handle life in the mob....except for Carly that he knew of. Besides, he just didn't want some random girl, he still loved Courtney and he needed time before even thinking about moving on. Courtney wasn't the only girl that couldn't handle his lifestyle...there was Elizabeth as well.  
  
Carly sighed. "I came over here to spend time with my best friend...and I'm not leaving here until I do." She crossed her arms and gave him one of her determined looks.  
  
Jason knew there was no making her leave. Carly Roberts was as stubborn as a mule. "Where are Michael and Morgan?" Jason asked.  
  
"They are at Bobbies for a little bit. I was hoping you could spend time with them along with me." Carly said. "Michael wants to play catch in the park and I already told him that you would."  
  
Jason sighed. "Why did you do that Carly??" he asked.  
  
"I did it because I am not giving you a choice here. Now grab your jacket and come on, we are going to pick up Michael and Morgan and spend the day together. Then after that, if you feel the need to come back here and work on the business, you have my blessing and I'll leave you alone." Carly says.  
  
Jason reluctantly grabbed his leather jacket off the coat rack and put it on.  
  
____________________________  
  
Jason and Carly, along with Michael and Morgan, walked around in the park. Carly was pushing Morgan around in his stroller, while Michael walked alongside next to Jason. Jason and Michael planned on playing catch after they walked around for a while. Jason had to admit, this was a good distraction from his work and the business. His eyes scanned around the park as they walked. Something caught his eye and he stopped in his tracks...Courtney. There she was, sitting down on a park bench watching a few young children playing together.  
  
Carly noticed Courtney right after Jason and looked over at him. "Why don't you go over and say hi?" she suggested.  
  
Jason sighed not sure this was a very good idea but decided to anyway. "Fine, but if I didn't know any better, I would have thought you would have planned this."  
  
Carly shook her head. "No, I didn't plan this....because like you know, most of my plans never work." She paused. "Michael, Morgan and I will be here if you need us."  
  
Jason nodded and then walked over to Courtney. He took a seat next to her breaking Courtney's train of thought.  
  
"Hey, how are you?" Jason asked his eyes meeting hers.  
  
Courtney bit her lip. "I'm okay....I've been busy with my new job and all." She said.  
  
Jason fell silent. He had heard about Courtney's new job with Jasper Jacks. He wasn't too thrilled with having her work with Jax since Jax and Sonny were enemies. He was wondering if Jax using her for information like Brian Beck was for a while. He wouldn't put it past Jax at all.  
  
Courtney knew what he was probably thinking. "You know, Jax isn't using me for information if that's what you are thinking."  
  
Jason sighed. "I'm sorry, I can't help it....Beck did it and Jax...-"he was cut off by her.  
  
"And Jax is not doing that." Courtney said finishing his sentence not the way Jason had planned on finishing it.  
  
"I am trying to look out for you Courtney because I care...and I always will." Jason said his blue eyes looking into hers.  
  
Courtney looked back into his eyes. "I know that, I just want you to believe that someone isn't always using me." Courtney sighed softly and looked away. "This job is me moving on from my life with you. I couldn't handle your life, but I can this one." She rose to her feet. "I have someplace that I have to be...." She said.  
  
Jason rose to his feet. "I understand, just understand this....I will always look out for you because a part of me will always love you."  
  
Courtney felt fresh tears form in her eyes. "Just stop...don't keep saying that." She shook her head. She looked at him one last time and hurried off before she lost it in front of him. _____________________________________  
  
Courtney found herself on the docks. She let the tears fall crying softly. This wasn't fair...why couldn't she handle Jason's life. If she only could, they would be together and still married and neither of them would be feeling all of this pain. She stared out at the water and didn't hear some footsteps come up behind her. She felt a gentle hand being placed on her shoulder and instantly turned around. She saw a pair of concerned eyes looking back at her....they weren't belonging to Jason....they belonged to Jax.  
  
"Hey...are you okay?" Jax asked softly. Jax was just passing by when he saw the blonde looking out at the water and heard her crying softly. He had to make sure she was okay.  
  
Courtney shook her head no and found herself hugging him tightly just to have someone to hold onto.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Zander, who had flipped on the TV and begun watching it, heard footsteps ascend up the staircase. He sprung off the bed and went back into the closet and closed the door all the way but a crack so he could see out of it. The footsteps grew closer and closer and he heard and saw Maxie's bedroom door open. He held his breath not knowing who was about to enter, but was relieved to see that it was Maxie.  
  
Maxie quietly shut the door behind her and figured Zander was in the closet. "You can come out Zander, its only me." She said as she set the tray of everything she had brought up on the bed. Maxie also set a newspaper on the bed as well.  
  
Zander walked out of the closet and shut the door behind him. He noticed the food on the tray and the newspaper and grinned. "Thank you, I was starving." He said as he took a seat on the foot of her bed. He picked up the paper and flipped through it trying to catch up on the current events. An article about an engagement announcement caught his eye. "Whoa, I didn't expect this..." he said as he reread the names making sure he wasn't seeing anything. The article was announcing the engagement of Lucky Spencer and Elizabeth Webber.  
  
Maxie took a seat next to him on the foot of the bed. "Yeah, Lucky and Liz got back together after things fell apart with Liz and Ric." She said looking over at the article as well. "I didn't know about the engagement but I'm happy for them."  
  
"What happened between Elizabeth and Ric?" Zander asked setting the newspaper down giving Maxie his full attention.  
  
Maxie bit her lip trying to find the simple way to explain it. "Ric never gave up his vendetta against Sonny after all. Some big mess happened and before Elizabeth's baby was due, she found out about Ric lying to her again and the stress made her go into premature labor. She sadly miscarried and their relationship never recovered." She said. "Elizabeth turned to Lucky in comfort and they fell in love all over again I guess."  
  
The baby....gone. His and Elizabeth's child was gone. Zander was stunned. He had never expected the baby to die. He thought Elizabeth and Ric would be raising the child by now in a white house with a yellow picket fence....or something to that effect. He felt like the wind was knocked right out of him. He sat there for a minute registering everything. Not only was his father dead, but his unborn child with Elizabeth was gone too.  
  
Maxie noticed how speechless Zander was. "Are you okay?" she asked softly looking into his eyes.  
  
Zander slowly nodded. "The baby that Elizabeth lost was....mi-." he started but was surprised that Maxie cut him off.  
  
"The baby was yours, I know that." Maxie said. "I found out about that a while ago. Now I understand why Ric Lansing had it in for you."  
  
Zander hated the name Ric Lansing because of the man behind the name. "I was too screwed up to be a father then...and Ric Lansing was no potential father of the year either. He did stupid things too. I would have rather signed my parental rights to someone worthy, like Lucky.... Someone who is not psychotic like Ric. The bastard tricked me and then decided to pin point me as the suspect in the Beck shooting in fear that I'd fight for my child." He sighed softly and then decided not to talk about it anymore. That wasn't a pleasant topic for him especially now that his child was dead and since it was over and done with. "How did you manage to bring me breakfast." He said looking over at the food on the tray.  
  
Maxie glanced over at the tray as well. "Well Georgie and Dillon went out into the living room probably to play their kissing game...." She rolled her eyes. Georgie and Dillon were always showing public affection these days, probably because they were madly in love. Maxie wished for that one day and secretly envied her sister a bit for having found someone like Dillon so early in her life. "And Mac had to make a trip to the bathroom....so I gathered a bunch of things up on a tray and came up here." She explained. "I don't think I've ever collected things so quickly before in my life....in fact, I wasn't even sure what I was putting on the tray."  
  
Zander looked over what was on there. A cereal bowl, a spoon, Fruit Loops Cereal, a carton of milk, and some toast. "This is just fine, and by the way...I happen to like Fruit Loops." He smirked as he opened up the box and poured some Fruit Loops into it and added some milk. He picked up his spoon, mixed the dry cereal in with the milk for a little bit and started eating away. "So when do you get off of your shift at the hospital?" he asked in between bites.  
  
The hospital...Maxie had completely forgotten about it. She looked over at the clock on her nightstand and noticed it was already 9:30. She still had to get ready. "The hospital! Oh crap, I still have to get ready." She exclaimed jumping off the bed. She dashed over to her bathroom and turned around. "If you hear someone coming up the stairs, you know the drill. I'll be taking a shower and getting ready." She didn't even wait for an answer; she just went into the bathroom and closed the door.  
  
A minute or so later, Zander heard the shower turn on and begin running. He continued to eat his cereal and looked over the paper seeing what else he had missed while he was away.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Tracey had no idea how she was going to figure out Skye's plans for the evening....in fact, she didn't know if she could. She sighed softly to herself and decided that she would have to tail Skye during the day or find a clever way to get that information out of her. It was too early to find out right now...she would have to wait a little bit. Patience wasn't one of Tracey's strong points, but she would have to be patient now. 


	7. Chapter 6

From the Ashes  
  
Authors Note: Chapter 6 is up. I had a bit of what you would call writers block so it took me longer to write this one This chapter is relatively short lol. Its afternoon in Port Charles at the beginning of this chapter. Just to warn everyone...this is going to be one long evening in Port Charles. Like I said before...there is a lot of Lusky coming up. Tracey and Helena are important players in the upcoming chapters too. I'm testing the waters with Courtney and Jax, so tell me what you think about what I wrote for these two. And I'm in need of some fresh ideas to do with Georgie/Dillon. I got something, but I don't know if I want to go that route. If you want to send me your ideas...my email is: skittles272002@yahoo.com. Thanks :D  
  
Thanks for the feedback for Chapter 5 (  
  
And finally...don't forget to review! I love reading reviews and it encourages me to write more and more often than if I didn't get any lol  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Afternoon:  
  
Luke Spencer walked into the Haunted Star's main casino room where all the gambling went on. He had to check on his latest investment to make sure it was still in one piece. Faith had been making several threats since she was slowly getting booted out of the partnership. Luke didn't need the feisty blonde's mob business anymore, he had enough business elsewhere.  
  
He still had to come up with a place to take Skye for dinner. Skye was like a diamond in the rough in that family people called the Quartermaine's. She gave him a whole new outlook on life besides moping around over Laura. She saved him from self destructing numerous times, he was grateful even though he didn't show it a lot of the time. Skye was important to Luke and he didn't know what he would do with himself if she weren't in his life anymore.  
  
Thinking about restaurants once again...Luke was having some trouble coming up with a place to take her. Since the PC Grill was no more, and he didn't feel like taking her to Luke's, he opted to try one of the new places that had opened up. He sat down at the casino's bar racking his brain on where to take her. Lets see...there was: Mystic Heart, The Blue Note (AN: People who watch Days of our lives should recognize this one lol ) and Misty Cove. Finally deciding on Misty Cove, Luke picked up the phone to make the reservations.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Skye Chandler Quartermaine put on her coat and grabbed her purse off the table. She was heading out to the store to buy something to wear out to dinner. She hoped it was a formal dinner because that was what kind of dress she planned on buying. She took one last look around at her cottage and opened the door and walked out. She headed walked out to her car and got in. Once she had started up the car, she pulled out of the driveway heading towards down town Port Charles.  
  
________________________________  
  
Tracey Quartermaine slithered up to the door of Skye's cottage once Skye's car was gone. Her gloved hand reached inside her purse and pulled out a key. She smiled wickedly to herself as she placed the key into the keyhole and quietly turned it. The door responded and opened to Tracey's delight. She waltzed in like she owned the place, flicking on the lights. Her eyes scanned the room unsure what she was looking for. Tracey was hoping to find a calendar of some type....a note...a PDA...something that had anything written on it about what she was doing that night. Tracey was still in the dark to why Helena wanted to know this, but wasn't going to ask any questions. Sighing to herself, she started going through some drawers looking for what she wanted.  
  
There it was.....a simple sticky note with today's date written on it. Underneath the date, was written 'Dinner with Luke....6:00.' Tracy took a mental note of that and looked for the place. Finding none, she tried turning it over hoping it was on the back...nothing.  
  
"Darn it anyway...." She hissed through clenched teeth. Sighing in annoyance, Tracy pulled out her cell phone to call Helena. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Jax opened up the door to his Penthouse and gestured for Courtney to go in. He had moved into this Penthouse after his burned down in the fire. He couldn't leave Courtney as upset as she was at the docks, so he decided to take her to his Penthouse. Hopefully he could calm her down and brighten her mood a little bit.  
  
Courtney walked inside and looked around. "This is a nice Penthouse, do you like it better than your old one?" she asked trying to start a conversation so he wouldn't ask her what was wrong.  
  
Jax closed the door once he walked in. "Yeah...this one is nice. Less bad memories are here, so that's a bonus." His thoughts drifted back to his old Penthouse. He had memories there of Brenda, Sam...and others. Jax walked over to his mini bar. "Can I offer you a drink?" he asked. "I have....-"he was cut off.  
  
"I'll have anything you got." Courtney said taking a seat on his couch.  
  
Jax nodded and poured the drinks and went over to Courtney taking a seat next to her. He handed Courtney her drink and took a sip of his own drink. "I know you are probably thinking that I'm going pry and see what was wrong back at the docks, but I'm not going to do that." He said.  
  
Courtney was confused and surprised all at the same time. "Your not?" she asked looking over at him.  
  
Jax shook his head. "Nope, I figure this....if you want to tell me, you will tell me." He said with a slight grin.  
  
Courtney relaxed a bit after hearing him say that he wasn't going to ask her a zillion questions. "Thank you..." she said softly and took a sip of her drink.  
  
Jax looked over at her. "Your welcome. I couldn't just leave you there seeing how upset you were." He said.  
  
Courtney smiled slightly at him. "I really appreciate it....I hope I'm not ruining your plans for the day or anything."  
  
Jax shook his head. "Of course not." He said in response.  
  
Courtney bit her lip figuring she might regret this later on. "I'd like to tell you why you found me like I was...." She said.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~  
  
Skye looked through the dresses on the wrack at the clothing store that she was in. She was looking for the right dress for her upcoming dinner with Luke. Something that she looked good in, but not too unprofessional. That was why Luke invited her to dinner...right? Work...business....  
  
Skye sighed softly to herself. There were times where she didn't understand Luke Spencer or how he thought, other times she did. Her fingers fell upon a dress. It was a royal blue dress. She picked it up off the wrack and held it up to her. Skye didn't even hear a salesperson come up behind her.  
  
"Can I help you miss?" she saleswoman asked.  
  
Startled, Skye jumped a little bit. She spun around and saw it was only a friendly salesperson. "Oh, hi..." she started. "Actually, I'm trying to find a dress for a dinner date tonight..." her eyes scanned through the dresses landing upon one. "Actually, I think I've found my dress." She said putting the royal blue one back on the rack and picking up the other dress.  
  
The saleswoman nodded and walked off leaving Skye looking at her choice. "This one looks perfect...Luke should like it...-." She stopped mid sentence. *Why should I dress for Luke?? Its not like we are more than friends....* she thought to herself. She shook her head trying not to think about it and looked at the dress again.  
  
"That dress is too pretty for the likes of you." A voice came from behind Skye.  
  
Skye clenched her free fist when she heard that comment. She already knew who it was, and it was typical of that person. She turned around. "Tracey." She hissed through clenched teeth.  
  
Tracey laughed knowing she was getting to her. She loved this about Skye, she was so easy to get to. "So what's the dress for? Got some hot date or something?" she asked. Tracy had a mission, to get the information to where Skye was going to dinner out of Skye herself.  
  
Skye chose to ignore her. "Don't you have someone else you can pester?" she asked rolling her eyes.  
  
Tracey sighed. "Nope, sorry....besides, its fun pushing your buttons." She tried to reach for the dress but found Skye pulling it away from her.  
  
"Find another dress Tracey." Skye said. "This one is pretty, but it couldn't help you look good at all." She gave her a look of warning. She was in no mood for this.  
  
Tracey huffed. She was glad Skye was no longer going to be a pain in her side after tonight.  
  
"You wouldn't be buying that dress for Mr. Luke Spencer would you?" Tracey asked with a smirk.  
  
Skye sighed. "What difference does it make if I am? And why do you even give a damn?" she asked wondering what Tracey was up to.  
  
Tracey sighed. "What is Luke taking you to some whacked up restaurant? Is that why you're in such a foul mood?" she asked. The bait was set, she would get answer now.  
  
Skye was getting tired of this. She did not feel like standing there and talking, the word was very loosely fit, with Tracey Quartermaine. "FYI Tracey, I don't know where Luke is taking me...and quite frankly, why do you even care to ask...unless you are up to something." She looked over at Tracey. *Okay Tracey, what are you up to now?* she thought silently to herself.  
  
"Of course not...are you that paranoid?" Tracey replied. "I'm just seeing if you were finding good use of your time. Your hanging around the Mansion is very annoying." She casually took a look at her watch. "Great, I'm running late." She muttered flat out lying. She didn't have anyplace to be, she just wanted to get out of there before Skye became more suspicious of her.  
  
"Don't let me keep you." Skye said coolly in response.  
  
Tracey sighed and then turned around and exited the store. She got nowhere with that conversation. The only things she got out of it were information she already knew and an insult.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Maxie sighed softly to herself as she tapped her fingernails against the countertop of the front desk, where she was working. She had a few hours left on her shift and she couldn't wait to get home today....Mainly because of Zander. Maxie wondered how he was doing and figured he had to be bored by now. She really wanted Zander to stick around Port Charles and wondered if that could be possible. Beck was dead, Lansing had nothing to do with Zander anymore since Elizabeth lost the baby, Emily was happily married to Nikolas, Zander was basically out of Faith's Mob Ring since it had been a little over a year now that he had worked for her. Maybe it was possible, least Maxie hoped it was.  
  
Maxie bit her lip when her thoughts drifted to her sister. She hoped Georgie was planning on going out with Dillon for dinner. Mac was putting some overtime in at the station, so he wouldn't be around. That way, Zander could get out of her room for a little bit. She picked up the hospital phone and quickly dialed up Georgie's cell phone number making it look like she was placing a hospital call. It rang a few times before her sister finally picked up.  
  
"Hello?" Georgie's voice said from the other end of the phone  
  
"Hey Georgie...its Maxie, I was wondering if you were going to be home for dinner?" Maxie asked and then waited for her response.  
  
"I'm probably going to...Dillon wanted me to eat with him tonight at Kelly's, but I haven't been around lately...and I thought it would be nice for me to spend some time with my big sister." Georgie said.  
  
This wasn't the answer that Maxie wanted. "Georgie...have dinner with Dillon." She insisted. "I'm just going to grab something for dinner anyway." She hoped Georgie would not insist on coming home for dinner. Maxie wanted to tell her sister about Zander being back, but she didn't know if Zander wanted anyone to know he was alive or not.  
  
Georgie sighed softly. "Okay...but I don't know why you are pushing me to...-" she started but was cut off.  
  
"I got to go Georgie, I'm supposed to be working." Maxie cut her off. "Have fun at dinner with Dillon....bye." Maxie quickly hung up the phone and sighed in relief.  
  
_________________________  
  
Georgie put her cell phone back in her purse. "What was that all about?...what is up with my sister now?" she asked herself as she walked out of the library. Georgie had gone there to check out some books for her report that she had in English Class. She shook her head as she walked out to her car and unlocked it, setting her books in the backseat.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Jax sat there and listened as Courtney spilled about her problems with Jason. He felt compassion for her because she was so hurt that she couldn't accept Jason's lifestyle. Once she had finished, he looked into her eyes.  
  
Courtney quickly looked away regret filling her mind. "I shouldn't have told you any of this...." She said softly. "You are Sonny's enemy and you are also my employer, I just needed someone to confide in. Someone who is a third party in a way...someone not connected or involved with the mob."  
  
Jax nodded and gently reached out for her hand. He was a little surprised that Courtney let him take it. "Look Courtney, you don't have to be sorry. I would like to consider you as a friend and I hate seeing you like this." He paused. "Don't worry about Sonny....I won't be telling him anything at all. Its not like we are on talking terms anyway." He smiled slightly. That was an understatement; Jax and Sonny wouldn't shed a tear if the other fell off the face of the earth.  
  
Courtney smiled a little in response. "I know, and thank you for listening to me." She finished her drink and stood up. Courtney decided she had better get going. She didn't want to take up anymore of Jax's time. "Thank you for the drink and the listening ear. I'll see you at work tomorrow." She made her way over the door and opened it. The sound of his voice saying something stopped her from leaving.  
  
"Your welcome Courtney, if you ever want to talk again my door is always open." Jax said. He wasn't just saying that, he meant it. He wondered if she would take him up on what he was offering ever.  
  
Courtney nodded and then left shutting the door behind her. A part of her regretted spilling to Jax, but another part of felt a little bit better after having someone to talk to about it than Carly. Courtney loved Carly like a sister, but Carly would always push for her to reunite with Jason.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Skye, with her new purchase in her shopping bag, unlocked the door to her cottage. She opened the door and set everything down in the living room. She was too busy thinking about this evenings plans to notice that some things on her desk where not like she had left them. Skye went over to the bag and took the long gown out holding it up to her and smiled to herself.  
  
This dinner may be a business dinner, but she was still looking forward with it. Skye, for the most part, always had fun with Luke. He was a breath of fresh air in her life. She had horrible luck before she found him in her cottage all that time ago. Her marriage had crumbled to Jax, a man she loved for a very long time. Skye still hated Brenda for that, but she was happy for Jax's friendship now. Then there was Ned....what was she thinking? Skye decided to call it temporary insanity. She was glad things ended with Ned. They were like oil and water basically.... The only common interest they had was Alexis' daughter Kristina.  
  
Shaking her head at her failed relationships, she thought about Luke once again. Luke was...one unique man. She never met anyone like him. He was crazy like a fox, but also very cleaver...sweet too...in his own special way. She wondered where he was taking her. Skye hoped it wasn't some horrible place. She had no way of predicting what type of place he was taking her, Luke Spencer was unpredictable most of the time.  
  
Skye headed off into her bedroom with her dress in her hands to start getting ready for her evening out with Luke Spencer. 


	8. Author's Note

Author's Note:  
  
Hey guys, sorry for the lack of updating my story. I was debating wether to continue it at all because of the fact that Zander has been killed off of GH *sniff sniff* I got some encouragement to treat this like a AU (Alternate Universe) fanfic and continue writing this story. Who knows, characters have come back from the dead before...maybe Zander can do that..again. I have another obsticle though...the computer (my laptop...not this one that I'm on right now) that my fanfic is on, is having some major problems and I can't even see the screen without holding onto the screen of the computer with one of my hands most of the time, so I'm either going to have to: fix it myself somehow, send it in to get repaired, or tough it out and find a way to make that computer work. I'm aiming on writing some more in my fic over spring break. I just wanted to let everyone know. :D 


	9. Chapter 7

From the Ashes  
  
Authors Note: Chapter 7 is up. This chapter is mostly Lusky and Zaxie. It's evening now, and the start of one long night lol. There will be no Carly, Jason, Courtney and/or Jax in this chapter.  
  
I was saddened by Zander's last eppy on the show. :( I just have recently started watching again because of Luke and Skye as well as some interesting spoilers I've read. I got my laptop to function enough so I can type this chapter *cheers*  
  
Thanks for the feedback for Chapter 6 :)  
  
And finally...don't forget to review! I love reading reviews and it encourages me to write more and more often than if I didn't get any lol  
  
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Evening:  
  
Skye leaned over her vanity getting close enough to her mirror to put her earrings in. She carefully put the dangling earrings on her ears and then stepped back to see how they looked with the dress. She smiled at the image of herself the mirror gave off, this was as good as she was going to get. Her hands fell to her side, as she looked down at her dress the dress. It was a red dress that just fell short from touching the ground in length. It sparkled like no other dress...not too much though because Skye didn't like dressing too flashy. Luke liked the color red...well he got red. Along with the red dress came red high heal shoes that went with it. Her hair was combed down and straightened to almost perfection. She wore the basic makeup...powder, mascara, lipstick, and a pinch of blush...she made sure not to overdo it.  
  
Skye walked over to her closet and dug out a little red purse and decided to transfer the items from her regular purse into it for the evening. She dumped everything out onto her bed and started putting items into her purse. She glanced over at the clock as she put the last item into her red purse. It was 5:59...going on 6:00 and Luke would be there any minute to pick her up for their dinner date. Skye collected her purse off the bed and walked back into the living room to wait for Luke. She sat down in a chair and found herself running her fingernails across the fabric on her purse while she waited on Luke.  
  
She glanced over at the clock and noticed it was already 6:15 PM. If Luke decided this was the time to be fashionably late, she'd knock the living daylights out of him. She stood on her feet and just as she did so, the doorbell rang almost on cue.  
  
Skye looked down at her dress and walked over to the door and opened it up. There he was...Luke Spencer in a tux and everything standing on the other side of the door. He looked dashing and handsome all at the same time. It made Skye almost forget about him being 15 minutes late.  
  
Luke took one good look at Skye up and down and whistled. "Wow Blaze...." He paused making eye contact again. "You are a knockout." He grinned. "Sorry about being late, I had tie problems." He said.  
  
Skye looked at Luke's tie. "Apparently, you didn't solve that problem all the way...it's a tad bit crooked yet." She smiled. "Let me help you with that." She lifted her hands to his tie and started fixing it for him. "So where are your business papers...this is a business dinner right?" she asked with a smile now knowing it wasn't a business dinner. Luke didn't have a single business paper in hand.  
  
Luke's eyes got a little larger as he remembered about the business papers. "Oh shoot...the papers, I must have forgotten them." He said acting as he snapped his fingers together.  
  
Skye decided to pretend to buy it. "That's too bad, looks like this will be a regular dinner date then." She said trying to hide the smile that was forming on her lips.  
  
Luke nodded. "Yep, it sure is..." he paused and extended his hand to her. "Shall we?"  
  
Skye smiled and placed her hand in his. Luke gave it a gentle squeeze and then the pair linked their arms together and walked out to Luke's car together. ______________________  
  
A car sat parked just across the street and was unnoticed by the pair. Tracey Quartermaine silently watched Luke and Skye get inside Luke's car and then put her keys in the transmission. She would let them get to the end of the block and then start up her chair and tail them. She just hoped they were fast eaters because once she followed them to the restaurant; she would have to sit there and wait until they got done before calling Helena once Luke and Skye were getting ready to leave. This was all about timing, and it had to be done right. There wouldn't be room for failure.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Maxie juggled the bags of Chinese Food in one hand as she used the other to open up the Scorpio House. She kicked the door open with one of her legs and stepped inside. She set the bags of food down on the kitchen table and then closed the door, locking it up. She took a quick glance around making sure nobody was home, just incase someone happened to be. Seeing nobody, Maxie made her way to the staircase running up the stairs. She turned the corner and walked over to her room and placed her hands on the doorknob. She turned it and slowly opened the door expecting to see Zander on her bed watching TV or just to see him at all. She didn't see any sign of Zander, which instantly baffled her.  
  
After a moment of standing there surprised, it set in that Zander must have taken off....he was gone. Maxie felt her heart sink as she made her way over to her bed and sat down on it. She sighed softly as she glanced out the window.  
  
"Tough day?" a voice behind her asked.  
  
Maxie whipped around and her face lit up upon seeing Zander. He was in a pair of Mac's clothes and his hair was damp. It dawned on Maxie that Zander had been in the bathroom. "No, not really...." She paused. "I just thought you took off." She said. "I don't even know why I thought that now." She added looking into his eyes.  
  
Zander sat down next to her. "Take off? Me?" he said grinning slightly. "Of course not, besides I happen to like it here." He paused. "I used your shower, I hope you don't mind."  
  
Maxie shook her head. "Of course not. You are always welcome to use it." She said hopping off the bed. "I got us some dinner...you can come downstairs and you don't have to be cooped up in this room for a while." She said smiling.  
  
Zander got off the bed and went to the door. "As much as I like your room Maxie...I'm glad for a change of scenery." He grinned and then exited her room.  
  
Maxie heard his footsteps descend down the stairs and quickly followed. Once she was downstairs on the main floor, she stepped into the kitchen. Zander was getting some plates and glasses down along with some ketchup. Maxie took a seat at the table and waited until Zander took a seat next to her before opening the bags.  
  
"So what did you get me?" Zander asked opening one of the bags. He pulled out a carton of Sweet N Sour Chicken an Egg Roll and a dinner biscuit. "Maxie Jones, you managed to order me my favorite Chinese Food... you must be a mind reader or your must be a lucky guesser."  
  
"Lucky guesser." Maxie replied opening up her bag of Chinese Food. Maxie ordered herself some Almond Chicken, an Egg Roll and a dinner biscuit as well as an order of Rice for the two of them to share.  
  
Zander and Maxie began eating away. All the while, Maxie wondered how long Zander was really going to stay there for. She knew hiding him at her house was risky, but she didn't mind doing that for a while if it meant having Zander around  
  
Zander quickly inhaled his food setting his silverware down. Hearing the sound of the silverware clinking against the table, Maxie stopped eating and looked over at Zander. "Wow, you must have been starving." She commented.  
  
Zander laughed slightly. "Sorry about woofing it down like that, I was really hungry. I didn't get around to having any lunch." He explained.  
  
"That's okay, I would die if I didn't have any lunch." Maxie said. She smiled slightly and finished her dinner. Setting her silverware down she decided to ask the question that she had in her mind. "Zander...is it possible that you could stay in Port Charles permanently??" she asked finding herself holding a secret breath.  
  
Zander bit his lip and then sighed slightly. "I have no idea Maxie, I don't see how I could for very long. Everyone thinks I'm dead and I may still be thrown in the slammer." He said.  
  
"I think with a good lawyer, you could get those charges dropped. Like I said before.... I bet Capelli actually shot Brian since he was the one that did kill him after all. A good lawyer should be able to prove that." Maxie says. "Like...Alexis Davis." She said. "Alexis could do that, she is a great lawyer, one of the best."  
  
Zander closed his eyes for a moment reopening them. "I don't know if I can trust Alexis.....her devotion is with Nikolas." He said. "She may consider me a threat to Nikolas and Emily's relationship yet and not help me."  
  
"I talked with Alexis right before I found out you were alive. She misses you...and Cameron as well. I know she would help you, she even gave you a memorial service when everyone thought you were dead." Maxie replied in response.  
  
"I don't know Maxie..." Zander hesitated. He wasn't so sure about this idea, and he didn't know if trusting someone else besides her was a good idea.  
  
"Please Zander, this could mean you get to stay here...and I want you around." Maxie pleaded, her eyes locking with his.  
  
Zander could see how much she wanted him to stay He hadn't had a pair of eyes look at him like that since Emily all those years ago before she came back to Port Charles. Just spending the amount of time with Maxie that Zander had, he found some similarities to the Emily he fell in love with.  
  
"Okay..." Zander said giving in. He just hoped Alexis would be able to help him...or even want to help him. "Tomorrow, we will contact Alexis...."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~  
  
"We have arrived darling." Luke said as he shut off the Car's engine. "I was thinking of places to have dinner at and I thought we would give this place a shot." He explained glancing over at his date for the evening.  
  
Skye glanced out the front dash window at the restaurant. "Misty Cove...I did hear some praises about the food here. For a second I thought you would take me to some bar or some crazy country place." She said with a smile.  
  
"Me? I'm insulted." Luke joked as he opened up hair car door. He noticed Skye starting to open hers. "Hold on blaze, don't move another muscle." He said jumping out of the car. Luke rushed over to her door and opened it for her. "I prefer to be a gentlemen when I take a lady out to dinner."  
  
"Very charming Spencer." Skye said stepping out of the car. She closed the door behind her and looked over at Luke. Luke and Skye walked towards the entrance of the restaurant together. Luke opened the door for her and gestured for her to walk on in. Laughing, Skye walked inside and Luke followed.  
  
What the pair saw was a very elegant restaurant and it looked beautiful. Skye had her doubts about the restaurant because of the odd name of it, but she was glad that she was wrong about that.  
  
"You picked out a lovely place to eat Luke." Skye said as she and Luke walked up to the host.  
  
The host was a young man dressed in the traditional suit and tie. He was standing behind a pulpit (AN: I think that is what the thing is called) with a reservation book.  
  
"Excuse me sir..." Luke began. "Me and the lady here have a reservation." He said.  
  
The man looked up from the book. "Good evening sir...good evening miss." he greeted. "What is the name the reservation is under?" he asked Luke.  
  
"Spencer." Luke replied instantly glancing over at Skye and then turned his attention back to the young man.  
  
The man flipped through the book following along with is right index finger. He stopped when he came across the name Spencer. He looked up and closed the book once he did so and nodded letting Luke knew he found the reservation.  
  
"Mr. Spencer, let me show you and your guest to your table." The young man said as he started walking towards the dining room where all the tables were.  
  
Luke and Skye nodded and followed the host to their table. Luke had reserved a table in the back with an amazing view out the window. The host pulled out Skye's chair and Luke went around across from her seat and sat down. Skye took a seat in her chair and the host pushed it in for her.  
  
"A waiter will be here shortly. Have a nice evening." The host said and then walked off most likely back to his pulpit.  
  
Skye looked around the restaurant from her chair. "Wow...you really outdid yourself." She said in awe. Her eyes sparkled as she smiled over at him.  
  
"Well, I'm glad to have you to outdo myself for." Luke replied simply but with so much emotion behind it. He looked forward to doing this several more times with Skye. It was something to look forward for him; he hadn't had a reason to look forward to something for a long time, not since Laura.  
  
Luke picked up his menu and gave it a quick look over. His eyes fell upon roast beef special and decided to order that. He looked over his menu at Skye watching as the redhead looked at her menu. "Find anything to your liking?" he asked as his eyes glanced back at his menu to the wine list.  
  
Remembering Skye was a recovering alcoholic; he already knew wine was out of the option. Besides, wine wasn't really Luke's thing. Beer was more for him.  
  
"As a matter of fact, I have." Skye said as she set her menu down.  
  
"And that would be?" Luke asked with a grin. He was curious to what Skye had decided to order for some odd reason.  
  
"Well if you must know, the White Fish." Skye answered. "What about you Luke?" she asked.  
  
"You will see when we order." Luke simply said.  
  
Skye opened her mouth to say something when the waiter approached their table.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Georgie and Dillon walked into Kelly's to get something to eat. Georgie nearly went home a few times to have dinner with Maxie while they were on the way over to Kelly's, but Dillon had to keep reminding her that Maxie wanted her not to do that. The couple sat down at a table and glanced around Kelly's.  
  
"We don't have to worry about not having a quiet dinner, its basically dead in here." Dillon said with a slight grin starting up a conversation, well trying to at least.  
  
Georgie seemed lost in thought. "I'm worried about her." She said out of the blue.  
  
"Huh?" Dillon asked slightly confused. It dawned on him that she had to be talking about Maxie. "Georgie..." he started.  
  
"I'm going to at least call home and see how she is doing....then I won't mention her anymore this evening after I call." Georgie pulled out her cell phone and then got up. "I'll get better reception outside...I'll be right back." She headed towards the door and Dillon watched her walk outside.  
  
Dillon instantly got up and followed her outside. He wanted Georgie to relax and to not have to worry about Maxie. Dillon didn't know why Maxie had been acting so oddly lately, but he decided to find out himself  
  
Georgie was punching in numbers on her cell phone when Dillon quickly swiped the hone from her hands.  
  
"Hey!" Georgie exclaimed. "Dillon what are you doing?" she inquired.  
  
Dillon stuffed Georgie's cell phone in his pants pocket, which wasn't what Georgie was expecting. Dillon then looked into her eyes, grinned and pulled her to him and smashed his lips onto hers.  
  
Georgie responded to the kiss wrapping her arms around his neck, all thoughts about calling her sister forgotten. 


End file.
